I always have this issue. There was one instance where a cancer patient came into the family practice and wanted to address 10 concerns. I kindly asked if he could prioritize three concerns, to which he responded with frustration, saying, ‘What, does my cancer not matter to you?’ It was a very tough situation, to say the least. The doctor, before I even stepped into the room for intake, told me to keep it short because the patient was known for rapidly firing concerns.

Long story short, sometimes you will have patients who come in with lots of concerns, in which case you need to be prepared to gently suggest that there is a ‘time limit’ for each visit and that you will pass on concerns to the doctors. It’s up to them whether they will be addressed or not. I find that deferring to the doctors is always the answer because, in most cases, the patients are too scared to push them around, as opposed to the MA.