A practical approach for managing problem patients
The detailed plan described in the next few paragraphs might seem like too much work, but past experience has shown that it will save time, money, and stress in the long run. Because every situation is different, doctors have to be flexible. However, this way of working usually helps patients get better results. 1. Know when you're doing something wrong. A regular patient may keep coming back with symptoms that aren't clear, change, or cause other problems, or a new patient may have a lot of complaints that point to a behavioral cause. In either case, the doctor should know that a comprehensive approach to care is needed. 2. Find out what the patient thinks. It's easy to want to cut a patient's "organ recital" short and get the meeting over with as quickly as possible. At a patient's first visit, this is sometimes the only solution that will work. If so, tell the patient that you need more time to evaluate him or her and have your staff set up a follow-u...