Women have the Power!
Why do I say they have the power? For starters I am surrounded by women at work and at home. I work with 25 women and also live with a wife and daughter. Even our dog is a female! What power do you ask? If you are married and a male you understand. But, the real power I am describing is the power of healthcare.
It is a fact that women drive health care in all families. They make about 80% of all healthcare choices. They choose their children’s doctors 85% of the time and take them to 84% of their appointments. Finally, 70% of women use social networking sites to give and receive information in order to make decisions or recommendations. They are clearly in charge with regards to healthcare for the family!
In stark contrast, men, by nature, seem disinterested in making health care decisions. I can attest that most of the men I see are there at the request of a woman. And, they come begrudgingly to see me. However, I cannot count the times that women who politely ‘nag’ their husbands, boyfriends, etc. have saved their lives! I have found so many melanomas on men because the women in their lives have ‘encouraged them’ (generally meaning she made the appointment for him and some even arrive at the appointment time to make sure he showed up!).
I know that this pattern is not only true here at Sunflower Dermatology, but in all facets of health care. Recently I had a patient with a melanoma who didn’t want to come back and didn’t tell his significant other that it was even a true cancer. Boy, these men are crazy (present company included!). My hope at bringing this up is that we will all take a look at our lives and categorize what is really important. Preventive health visits or problem health visits are important. Patients routinely say they have had a concern for months or years. It makes me wonder why it can take so long to deal with a skin concern. Bottom line…we’ve seen over and over again how checkups can lead to better skin for a better life®.
Sincerely,
Brian Matthys, DO
