‘I Apologize for What You Are About To See’
By HILARY HATCH, PhD
The growing movement to include the patient voice in medicine through
Motivational Interviewing, patient-reported outcomes, social determinants of health
and shared decision-making
One day in 2011, as a part of my research on ways
to improve patient-provider communication about health behaviors, I was
shadowing Dr. G., a talented young internist with a cheerleader demeanor. He marched
through 12 afternoon patient appointments with confidence and purpose. But when
he saw the name of the last patient on her schedule, he turned pale, faced me
and said, “I apologize for what you are about to see.”
I must have looked confused. He repeated, “I
apologize for what you are about to see.”
We walked into the exam room. I’m not sure either
one of us knew what to expect. The patient, a white, obese man, was seated,
doubled over. He had a wad of paper towels jammed in his mouth. He threatened
to pull out his own, presumably abscessed, tooth. He refused to see a dentist
because he had no dental coverage, no money and no one to borrow money from. He
said he would use pliers to pull his tooth, but stayed put, rocking in his
seat. At the computer, the young doctor’s white-knuckled hand gripped his
mouse. Click. Click. Click. He searched the patient’s chart aimlessly for help.
Alerts kept popping up about the patient’s missing A1C results. It took two
minutes, but it felt like 20.
Dr. G. left the room and came back a few minutes
later. He g...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Medical Practice Patients Psychology Hilary Hatch motivational interviewing patient-reported outcomes Phreesia Social Determinants of Health Source Type: blogs
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