To avoid premature death, scientists advise not to run around the doctors
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Scientists from the UK managed to establish an interesting relationship: the degree of risk of premature death in some ways depends on how many physicians a person is. In particular, scientists advise visiting one trusted doctor who can be trusted.
The experiment carried out by the staff of the faculty of medicine at Exeter University, as well as the St Leonards Practice Hospital, confirmed: a long-term observation from one specialist can save not only health, but life.
Leading specialist of the project work Denis Pereira Gray and his colleagues conducted a detailed analysis of 22 results of previous studies, which mentioned information about the constancy of medical supervision and the degree of premature lethality.
"As we saw, the advantages of constant medical supervision are that the doctor and the patient meet regularly and know a lot about each other. Such communication is more effective, confident and frank, "experts say. Scientists have suggested that such a trust relationship can positively influence not only the state of health, but also the quality and life expectancy of patients.
The analyzed research works included information about patients from different countries, with different approaches to organizing health care, with different cultures. This experiment can in fact be called multinational.
Scientists have been found: in more than 80% of cases, regular follow-up at a regular doctor coincided with a low rate of mortality of patients. This relationship was established regardless of the specialization of the doctor: it could be a surgeon and even a psychiatrist.
According to experts, the true cause of this phenomenon is the trust between the patient and the doctor, and the benefit from this is obtained by both sides.
"Everyone knows that the degree of trust in a particular doctor largely determines how patient will listen to medical advice and follow all recommendations," experts note.
Until now, a visit to a permanent doctor was associated only with great comfort for the patient himself, and with a certain degree of politeness. Now scientists have added advantages: it turns out that a constant "observer" for health guarantees the quality of medical care provided, as well as the patient's calm and confidence.
The results of the experiment confirmed a long-held opinion: a good doctor is, above all, a specialist who can and wants to be trusted. The main thing - to find just such a doctor, which, you see, is not so simple.
The details of the experiment can be found on the pages of the scientific publication BMJ Open.