October 21, 2025 • 9 mins
The relationship with your primary care provider is personal and should be built on honesty, trust and open communication. In today’s episode, Dr. Vikas Gampa, Internal Medicine Physician at MetroHealth, discusses how to build a good patient-provider relationship so you can get the most out of your appointments and play an active role in your healthcare journey.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, everybody. My name is Maddie Wills, and welcome
to another episode of Be Well with Maddie Wills, of course,
brought to you by to fine folks at Metro Health.
Today we'll be talking to doctor Vicasa Gampa about the
importance of building good relationships with your primary care provider. So,
without further ado, doctor, thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thanks for having me here.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Actually, of course, we know you guys are extremely busy,
so we really appreciate you taking some time out of
your busy days to just chop it up with us
a little bit. Before we get started, though, why don't
you tell the audience to viewers a little bit about
your journey in the Metro Health and what you do.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, my journey is kind of long. I was born
in India, if but I grew up in Dayton, Ohio.
Didn't think I was ever going to come to Cleveland. Actually, okay,
but I'm really glad i'm here. I do like the city.
I went to Ohio State, did a bunch of stuff
in Columbus, then left the state actually and went to
Harvard Medical School. Was there for ten years doing training,
(00:55):
but ultimately I wanted to come back because I wanted
to give back to the city. So I came to
Metro Health because I like the work that Metrowork Health
does and the work that I get to do here,
and I get to be an educator as well. So
I just love the people that I work with, my patients,
the colleagues, and the students that I work.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
With perfect and I'm sure they all appreciate having you,
and today, of course, I appreciate having you as well.
So we're talking today about the importance of establishing and
maintaining a good relationship with your primary care provider. So
we can kind of just jump right into it. What
are the most important tips and practices in building a strong,
effective patient provider relationship.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, thanks for that, Mattie. The first of it is
actually just to be honest. I don't mean just from
the patient's perspective. I also mean from the provider's perspective.
I think honesty goes both ways to build a relationship.
Recognizing that a primary care provider and patient relationship is
supposed to be long term, it doesn't mean that everything
happens on the first day and the first visit, so
(01:55):
it can take a long time to build that trust,
and that's okay. In terms of being effective, you know,
we are busy and our patient load is getting larger
because there are a lot of us that need to
be seen and we need to deserve the healthcare. So
to make your appointments effective, I recommend patients often write
down a list of things or concerns they want to
(02:17):
address before they come in. I recommend that they be
attentive and be there and be present because I know
that life is really hard for a lot of our patients,
and in general, life is getting harder and you only
get twenty minutes and that's your time to make the
most of whatever you want to talk to your provider about.
So in terms of building a relationship, honesty in terms
(02:37):
of making it quite effective, being prepared for your appointments.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Makes a lot of sense. And just from the stance
of hearing you say be honest as the first thing
that you said both ways, of course that rings true
for me as a as a patient, but it is
nice to hear that we are encouraging our doctors to
be honest with us as well. So, yeah, how do
you communicate Kate and build rapport with patients, particularly the
(03:03):
newer ones.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, my stance is, first of all, I'm honest, and
I just listen. The first time I meet someone, especially,
it's not about me and it's about them. And there's
a lot of nerves in both directions, actually, but especially
for the patients. So I just sit there and I
maybe ask them a few questions to clarify things, but
I just let them go through everything that they want
(03:25):
to talk about, and I tell them, you know, maybe
we'll get to all of these now, but maybe we won't,
but we'll get to them eventually. But first, I just
want to hear who you are. And part of that
actually is also getting to know the person a little
bit more. Like I always like to say, like, what
do you like to do for fun? Because you're not
just the illnesses that you present with. Who are you
as a human being? What do you like to do
(03:46):
in Cleveland? What do you like about the Browns as
we were talking about. So I just like to get
to know them because it helps me figure out what
I need to do for them in the future and
what I can offer for them to make their health
care the best it can be.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, sending to you talk it reminds me and I've
brought this up on previous episodes. How you know, I
went a little while and you know, quote unquote little
while without going to the doctor. But then when I
did get back into it, there were definitely a lot
of nerves on my part. And just speaking with my
friends who are my age, were in our early forties,
(04:19):
who I also try to encourage to get back into,
you know, going to the doctor, I can sense the
nerves with them as well. There's a lot of kind
of fear of the unknown as as it relates to
when you don't go for a long time. So I
know that has a lot to do with it. But yeah,
really insightful answer there and hopefully would encourage people to
(04:40):
to you know, make the leaping and start going back.
Why is honesty with your provider about lifestyle habits and
health concerns crucial and preventive care and how can patients
overcome discomfort when discussing sensitive topics.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, that's a good one, you know the first time.
One of the things about let me start with discomfort
part here, which is that we are all full of
nerves and a lot of discomfort. So I like to
say that it's not about the first visit it's about
the many visits that you have over time. It's kind
of like a bad analogy, but like going on a date,
the first date's always full of nerves and you kind
of don't reveal everything, and that's okay. But sometimes in
(05:17):
that relationship you can say something like, hey, I have
some things I want to discuss, but I'm not there.
I'm not in a place to discuss those with you yet,
so I'd like to hold on to that for our
next visit. The honesty part. There are a lot of
things in medicine that depend on what the patient tells us. So,
for example, things that are stigmatized in society, For example,
(05:41):
like smoking. In some cultures, it's very stigmatized, so people
don't tell me how much they smoke. But if they've
been smoking a lot of cigarettes, particularly for a very
long time, then they actually should get a CT scan
to make sure they don't have a lung cancer after
a certain age. But if I don't know that, then
I'm not going to order it because I'm worried about
giving you the rate that you don't necessarily need. On
(06:02):
the other hand, if you don't smoke at all, but
you feel like you should say that you smoke a lot,
then I might give you a CT scan and give
you extra radiation that you might not need anyway. So
in any particular way, just honesty helps me make sure
that you get the healthcare that's been proven to be
the best.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, would you say that, you know, just going back
to the theme of honesty. Yeah, a lot of people
may not want to hear the answer, the potentially negative
answer that it could be if they are completely honest.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Yeah. Absolutely. You know that fear that you were talking about.
Part of it was when I was talking about nerves.
I was talking about anxiety, but I got the senses.
It's also a little bit of the fear that comes
with knowing that, for example, if we do a CT
scan then we do find something in the lungs, for example.
And yeah, it is that fear, but I think it's
not about doing everything the first day, especially if it's
(06:56):
fearful for you. It's about having that relationship so you
can lean on that over time. And so I like
to tell my patients, you know, this is something that
I would like to do, and I understand that you're
scared of it, but I'm going to leave it on
the table. If ever you want to readdress it, bring
it back to me, but I may address it as
well and bring it up and see where you are
and how you feel. Over time, people kind of get
(07:17):
adjusted to the idea, even if the answer may be bad,
because they know that I'm on their side, and then
I'm going to help them go through the process, or
at least I make that obvious that I'm going to
help them go through that process, right.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And I'm sure a lot of that has to do
with just kind of building that rapport, seeing them more
than one time, and maybe just having them, you know,
honor the trust that you want to put into them
with that kind of you know, those repetitive conversations and
things of that nature.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah. Yeah, I think just letting patients actually choose their
health care, but telling them what I am doing and
why I'm doing it allows them to not always but
sometimes come back to it at a later time. Got it?
Got it?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
What virtual care options are available to patients at Metro
Health and how can patients build trust with their providers
through virtual care?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, I think we actually have a lot of virtual
care options. I think we have same day urgent care
options for children six and above, so that minor illnesses
and injuries can be taken care of that day. We
have same day options for adults for issues that can
be taken care of that day, but not necessarily entirely
(08:25):
urgent or emergent. And then we have chronic virtual care.
So sometimes you know, I have patients who can't see
me because of lots of reasons. They can't leave their house,
or they can't come here because they're at a job.
They can make an appointment with me virtually.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
So for today's call to action, Metro Health offers well
visits to prevent health problems before they start. Schedule an
appointment with a primary care provider today through my chart
online at metrohealth dot org slash appointments or call two
one six my Metro or that's two one six six
nine six three eight seven six on. Maddie Wills, this
(08:59):
is doctor Gampa. I think I got that right. You
did all right, good, because we would have had to
shoot the whole thing over again if I didn't. I'm
glad you didn't. But thank you for your time today
and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Thanks, Maddie,
What's up, everybody. My name is Maddie Wills, and welcome
to another episode of Be Well with Maddie Wills, of course,
brought to you by to fine folks at Metro Health.
Today we'll be talking to doctor Vicasa Gampa about the
importance of building good relationships with your primary care provider. So,
without further ado, doctor, thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thanks for having me here.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Actually, of course, we know you guys are extremely busy,
so we really appreciate you taking some time out of
your busy days to just chop it up with us
a little bit. Before we get started, though, why don't
you tell the audience to viewers a little bit about
your journey in the Metro Health and what you do.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, my journey is kind of long. I was born
in India, if but I grew up in Dayton, Ohio.
Didn't think I was ever going to come to Cleveland. Actually, okay,
but I'm really glad i'm here. I do like the city.
I went to Ohio State, did a bunch of stuff
in Columbus, then left the state actually and went to
Harvard Medical School. Was there for ten years doing training,
(00:55):
but ultimately I wanted to come back because I wanted
to give back to the city. So I came to
Metro Health because I like the work that Metrowork Health
does and the work that I get to do here,
and I get to be an educator as well. So
I just love the people that I work with, my patients,
the colleagues, and the students that I work.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
With perfect and I'm sure they all appreciate having you,
and today, of course, I appreciate having you as well.
So we're talking today about the importance of establishing and
maintaining a good relationship with your primary care provider. So
we can kind of just jump right into it. What
are the most important tips and practices in building a strong,
effective patient provider relationship.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, thanks for that, Mattie. The first of it is
actually just to be honest. I don't mean just from
the patient's perspective. I also mean from the provider's perspective.
I think honesty goes both ways to build a relationship.
Recognizing that a primary care provider and patient relationship is
supposed to be long term, it doesn't mean that everything
happens on the first day and the first visit, so
(01:55):
it can take a long time to build that trust,
and that's okay. In terms of being effective, you know,
we are busy and our patient load is getting larger
because there are a lot of us that need to
be seen and we need to deserve the healthcare. So
to make your appointments effective, I recommend patients often write
down a list of things or concerns they want to
(02:17):
address before they come in. I recommend that they be
attentive and be there and be present because I know
that life is really hard for a lot of our patients,
and in general, life is getting harder and you only
get twenty minutes and that's your time to make the
most of whatever you want to talk to your provider about.
So in terms of building a relationship, honesty in terms
(02:37):
of making it quite effective, being prepared for your appointments.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Makes a lot of sense. And just from the stance
of hearing you say be honest as the first thing
that you said both ways, of course that rings true
for me as a as a patient, but it is
nice to hear that we are encouraging our doctors to
be honest with us as well. So, yeah, how do
you communicate Kate and build rapport with patients, particularly the
(03:03):
newer ones.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Yeah, my stance is, first of all, I'm honest, and
I just listen. The first time I meet someone, especially,
it's not about me and it's about them. And there's
a lot of nerves in both directions, actually, but especially
for the patients. So I just sit there and I
maybe ask them a few questions to clarify things, but
I just let them go through everything that they want
(03:25):
to talk about, and I tell them, you know, maybe
we'll get to all of these now, but maybe we won't,
but we'll get to them eventually. But first, I just
want to hear who you are. And part of that
actually is also getting to know the person a little
bit more. Like I always like to say, like, what
do you like to do for fun? Because you're not
just the illnesses that you present with. Who are you
as a human being? What do you like to do
(03:46):
in Cleveland? What do you like about the Browns as
we were talking about. So I just like to get
to know them because it helps me figure out what
I need to do for them in the future and
what I can offer for them to make their health
care the best it can be.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, sending to you talk it reminds me and I've
brought this up on previous episodes. How you know, I
went a little while and you know, quote unquote little
while without going to the doctor. But then when I
did get back into it, there were definitely a lot
of nerves on my part. And just speaking with my
friends who are my age, were in our early forties,
(04:19):
who I also try to encourage to get back into,
you know, going to the doctor, I can sense the
nerves with them as well. There's a lot of kind
of fear of the unknown as as it relates to
when you don't go for a long time. So I
know that has a lot to do with it. But yeah,
really insightful answer there and hopefully would encourage people to
(04:40):
to you know, make the leaping and start going back.
Why is honesty with your provider about lifestyle habits and
health concerns crucial and preventive care and how can patients
overcome discomfort when discussing sensitive topics.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, that's a good one, you know the first time.
One of the things about let me start with discomfort
part here, which is that we are all full of
nerves and a lot of discomfort. So I like to
say that it's not about the first visit it's about
the many visits that you have over time. It's kind
of like a bad analogy, but like going on a date,
the first date's always full of nerves and you kind
of don't reveal everything, and that's okay. But sometimes in
(05:17):
that relationship you can say something like, hey, I have
some things I want to discuss, but I'm not there.
I'm not in a place to discuss those with you yet,
so I'd like to hold on to that for our
next visit. The honesty part. There are a lot of
things in medicine that depend on what the patient tells us. So,
for example, things that are stigmatized in society, For example,
(05:41):
like smoking. In some cultures, it's very stigmatized, so people
don't tell me how much they smoke. But if they've
been smoking a lot of cigarettes, particularly for a very
long time, then they actually should get a CT scan
to make sure they don't have a lung cancer after
a certain age. But if I don't know that, then
I'm not going to order it because I'm worried about
giving you the rate that you don't necessarily need. On
(06:02):
the other hand, if you don't smoke at all, but
you feel like you should say that you smoke a lot,
then I might give you a CT scan and give
you extra radiation that you might not need anyway. So
in any particular way, just honesty helps me make sure
that you get the healthcare that's been proven to be
the best.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, would you say that, you know, just going back
to the theme of honesty. Yeah, a lot of people
may not want to hear the answer, the potentially negative
answer that it could be if they are completely honest.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Yeah. Absolutely. You know that fear that you were talking about.
Part of it was when I was talking about nerves.
I was talking about anxiety, but I got the senses.
It's also a little bit of the fear that comes
with knowing that, for example, if we do a CT
scan then we do find something in the lungs, for example.
And yeah, it is that fear, but I think it's
not about doing everything the first day, especially if it's
(06:56):
fearful for you. It's about having that relationship so you
can lean on that over time. And so I like
to tell my patients, you know, this is something that
I would like to do, and I understand that you're
scared of it, but I'm going to leave it on
the table. If ever you want to readdress it, bring
it back to me, but I may address it as
well and bring it up and see where you are
and how you feel. Over time, people kind of get
(07:17):
adjusted to the idea, even if the answer may be bad,
because they know that I'm on their side, and then
I'm going to help them go through the process, or
at least I make that obvious that I'm going to
help them go through that process, right.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
And I'm sure a lot of that has to do
with just kind of building that rapport, seeing them more
than one time, and maybe just having them, you know,
honor the trust that you want to put into them
with that kind of you know, those repetitive conversations and
things of that nature.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Yeah. Yeah, I think just letting patients actually choose their
health care, but telling them what I am doing and
why I'm doing it allows them to not always but
sometimes come back to it at a later time. Got it?
Got it?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
What virtual care options are available to patients at Metro
Health and how can patients build trust with their providers
through virtual care?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Yeah, I think we actually have a lot of virtual
care options. I think we have same day urgent care
options for children six and above, so that minor illnesses
and injuries can be taken care of that day. We
have same day options for adults for issues that can
be taken care of that day, but not necessarily entirely
(08:25):
urgent or emergent. And then we have chronic virtual care.
So sometimes you know, I have patients who can't see
me because of lots of reasons. They can't leave their house,
or they can't come here because they're at a job.
They can make an appointment with me virtually.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
So for today's call to action, Metro Health offers well
visits to prevent health problems before they start. Schedule an
appointment with a primary care provider today through my chart
online at metrohealth dot org slash appointments or call two
one six my Metro or that's two one six six
nine six three eight seven six on. Maddie Wills, this
(08:59):
is doctor Gampa. I think I got that right. You
did all right, good, because we would have had to
shoot the whole thing over again if I didn't. I'm
glad you didn't. But thank you for your time today
and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Thanks, Maddie,
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