Friday, October 8, 2010

Not the Patient!

There are many times when a patient comes in with either a family member or friend who tries to hog the whole patient visit by talking about their own medical problems. I had one today who didnt even let the patient get a word in edgewise. The patient's friend wanted to talk about her own bypass and how she had all these test. I finally had to explain that it was her friend medical issues that the visit was for. No sooner had I said this then she started talking about how she had belly pain. Eventually, I interupted and asked the patient if I could talk to her in private and asked the patients friend to step out. With the friend out of the way, I was able to talk to the patient and get her the treatment she needed. The patient's friend used the time out of the room to fill out a survey that said I was rude and inconsiderate. I wanted to tell her that it was a patient satisfaction survery and she was Not the Patient!

1 comment:

SeaSpray said...

Throckmorton - it sounds like you were more than patient with the non patient.

You'd be right to tell her ...but she wouldn't get it.

And she'd probably fill out a second one...cause she didn't get it. :)

Btw - good idea to have an in office survey. Do you ever get any useful suggestions/feedback?