<p>What I meant in my post was that physicans tend to know other physicans professionally but do not see how they interact with their own patients. They may refer a person they know in their building or through the hospital etc. They usually do not know their everyday practices such as are they difficult to reach, do they spend a lot of time with their patients, do they have a great bedside manner and how their own patients perceive them. As far as them choosing their friends? I can tell you of about 5 obstetricians who tell their patients who they should they should take their baby to for a pediatrician because they are FRIENDS! They even go so far as to list their names on their patient’s charts without asking the patients if they’ve chosen their own first so these are the physicans we call in the hospital to do their newborn’s first exam. These pediatricans would not have a lot of business otherwise.
Also most psychiatrists work in conjunction with a psychologist etc and they are the ones that do the counseling sessions. A lot of psychiatrists are the ones doing the medication management and leave counseling sessions to others.</p>