What, exactly, is a difficult patient?

• Doctors can tell many tales of what they term as a difficult encounter just as many patients can recall doctors whom they would say are difficult to work with as well.
• Patients deemed difficult included those with more than five symptoms, severe symptoms or an underlying mental disorder or were less functional.
• These patients are less likely to fully trust or be satisfied with their physician, and they are more likely to report a worsening of symptoms two weeks after their visit.
• It’s important to note that patients aren’t the only responsibly party to the difficult encounter  physicians play a role in this as well
• Researchers found that physicians who were involved in difficult encounters generally tended to have less experience and fewer psychosocial skills.
• When you have someone who has 15 to 20 years of experience, they have learned how to deal with these patients said the researchers
• There will always be patients with multiple medical problems or psychiatric disorders that will make the encounter more challenging.
• But it depends on a physician’s psychosocial experience whether that encounter will traverse into the realm of difficult and that experience comes with time.
• Perhaps more training during residency is needed on how to deal with complex patient interactions so that new doctors would be more comfortable in handling a broader spectrum of patients.

Read More:  http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/03/difficult-patient-doctors-responsible.html