My commitment to you as patient

I commit to you that I WILL:

• conduct myself in a respectful and professional manner
• make available all resources within my power appropriate to your condition
• perform a competent assessment of the situation
• diagnose your problem as carefully and accurately as possible
• offer you with a variety of treatment options, from conservative to surgical
• not make you feel pressured to choose any particular option of those given
• encourage conservative measures before surgery
• make sure you understand the treatment options, including the likelyhood of success, as well as the potentially significant complications
• choose surgical procedures with the principle of “Primum non nocere” (First do no harm) in mind
• perform surgery competently and to the best of my ability. If a Resident or Fellow is involved, I will supervise closely
• personally or by proxy (resident, fellow, colleague) make sure that you are taken care of postoperatively
• always be honest with you
• inform you of any complications that may have occurred
• make sure you understand the implications of your decisions
• advise you if you should consider another opinion (this is always your prerogative) and I will encourage that if you wish to do so. In fact, I'll help you with such arrangements, if you so wish

I cannot:

• Have endless debates about every possible treatment choice. We will discuss treatments that I believe are appropriate for your particular needs
• Necessarily agree with everything you believe
• Discuss every possible detail with you during the first consultation. We'll discuss all appropriate and necessary detail in due course. In my practice, a "consultation" consists of different parts: The initial history and examination (often including a cystoscopy), then the Urodynamic Assessment and finally the discussion of the pathology and treatment options. The answers may thus only come at the end of the road, in order to avoid discussing issues or treatments that turn out not to be appropriate
• Accept any abuse towards my staff or clinic staff
• Allow you to monopolize my time to the detriment of my other patients