MS Speaks

This short article in JAMA (June 25), "Are you wearing your white coat? Telemedicine in the time of pandemic" describes a telemedicine visit where the patient mentions that she always thinks of her doctor as wearing a white coat.



https://bit.ly/2NvWUTE


Maybe it would be a good idea if doctors got rid of the white coat and maybe even the conspicuous stethoscope--anything that clearly marks them as doctors. Doctors seem to enjoy being in a special, revered category, with the white coat their uniform, but maybe patients have a little too much awe of their doctors.


Seeing a doctor without the white coat paraphernalia will remind us that the doctor is just another human being, one who happens to have training and experience we're willing to pay for but fallible.