Case Study - Conceptualizing Doctor-Patient Relationships
Channel: BioBalance Healthcast
Date: 2017-05-28

Read more at www.biobalancehealth.com

Doctor-Patient relationships are fraught with misunderstandings and irritation . This problem occurs all the time and causes patients to have expectations that are not realistic, and sometimes to accept treatment that they don’t realize can cause severe side effects.  We want to talk about both sides of the communication-doctors and patients—and shine a light on interactions that might cause you to refuse good and helpful treatment, as well as equally can motivate you to take risks that you wouldn’t if you really understood the risks. The blame is spread equally, but we want you to understand what to do if miscommunication is interfering with your our loved ones health. 

In an ideal world a physician should recognize the value of patient communication. They should learn to be cognizant of non-verbal communication and they should spend the time necessary to interview each patient regarding the concerns and complaints of each patient. Sadly, we do not live in an ideal world. Most patients are ill informed or unaware of their own communication skills, and are often ill informed and unaware of the specifics of their bodies and cause of their symptoms. In reality it is the doctor who is responsible for asking the right questions and discovering the diagnosis, before he or she begins treatment. This  communication problem has gotten  worse due to insurance companies began limiting the amount of money they pay physicians for an office visit. The outcome of this “lack of time” is that a doctor does not have time to hear each patient’s symptoms, diagnose, treat and explain everything in ten minutes! The outcome is poor medical treatment die to lack of time or communication skills.

On the patient's side of the problem is that they are worse communicators than doctors and either don’t tell the doctor everything or tell him or her too much so that the picture is muddled and the doctor gets “lost” in a diatribe. The withholding of information is often intentional, and when that occurs, the wrong diagnosis and treatment may be started.