Physicians take care of patients as their profession for mostly all their lives. However, once they retire from their work, they no longer take care of patients. They become patients themselves and this transition may pose some difficulties. Let’s take a closer look at some of the challenges physicians encounter as they retire and review some strategies to making this switch easier.

Challenges

The greatest challenge is that the provider is no longer a physician, but a patient. Maintaining the boundaries of roles between the retired physician and their current doctor can be difficult. The retired doctor may still feel they should be the one making their own diagnosis and treatment decisions based on what they feel is best for them. They may also informally consult other physicians who are their friends for opinions. Another challenge is that their current physician may assume that the retired doctor patient has certain medical knowledge on their health. However, the retired physician may not be an expert in that medical area. Retired physicians may also continue to informally give their previous patients treatment advice even after retiring.

Strategies

Retiring as a physician is not an easy task. You must learn to become only a patient now, and leave the practice of medicine to your physician provider. It may be hard initially to differentiate your new role from your old. However, you must remember and understand that it may be harder to think clearly and critically when you are the one experiencing the condition. You must learn to leave your care to your provider and respect your patient role. As a retired physician, your doctors caring for you should treat you like all their patients. The approach should include reviewing all risks and benefits of treatments. Another strategy is to refer your past patients to another provider that is still practicing when they seek additional information. Additionally, utilizing services to manage the needs of your medical records. A business like, My Retired Doctor can convert your medical records into an electronic version and store them for you. The can also retrieve your previous patient medical records at the request of your patients.

My Retired Doctor can help!

Don’t let managing your medical records be a challenge for you as you retire. As you can see, there are so many other difficult things you will have to balance. Let us help you with your document needs. Our expert team will be able to convert, store, access, and manage all your medical records and document needs. Give us a call at 877-328-2343 today!