On average, primary care physicians spend somewhere between 13 and 16 minutes with each patient. That's hardly enough time to assess the complaints, render a diagnosis, and counsel each on diet and exercise changes that could allieviate the symptoms.
A Reutuers article surfaced recently that explored how physicians are quick to prescribe drugs to patients who come in with complaints. The article attributes this knee-jerk reaction to lack of office visit time and to highly effective pharmaceutical marketing to both the physician and the consumer.
In some instances, prescription drugs can make the difference between health and disease. In many instances, however, prescription drugs cover up the symptoms and give the patient no incentive to address the cause of the disease. Proper diet and exercise has been shown to reverse many common conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.
Shouldn't diet and exercise counseling be on the agenda of every patient office visit? Doesn't it make sense to seek out a doctor who does address these important issues?
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