The frustrations of being a patient (or the doctor!)

“Can you help? I’ve been suffering with symptoms of XYZ, seen a doctor or two and had some tests. I’m really confused about what to do next. I just don’t know what’s going on and who to see?“

All the amazing healthcare professionals I’ve met share a desire to care well for their patients however all too frequently “the system” ends up confusing patients or constraining doctors in their efforts to achieve the best solution for everyone.

If you have been lost in your own healthcare story then you are not alone. We regularly speak with patients who have been seen by one or more doctors, maybe had some tests but just not feeling they understand what the underlying cause is, what ought to happen next or where to go next for help.

So how does this happen? It turns out that there are several factors at play:

Factor 1: The stressed patient

Visiting a doctor can be very stressful, you might have been rushing to make the appointment or already stressing about how you can fit everything you want to say into the short consultation. You may already have been wound up by work/kids/other life hassle or are annoyed with yourself for being ill at all. We can also throw “White coat syndrome” into the stress creating cocktail (where people show a stress reaction when in the presence of doctors ). Finally there is my personal favourite: Catastrophising. This where we have convinced ourselves, often “helped” by asking “Dr Google” or friends what is wrong, that we MUST have something dreadful when rational statistics suggest this is highly unlikely!

Factor 2: The information absorbed in a typical consultation

“40-80% of medical information provided by healthcare practitioners is forgotten immediately.”

Oh dear! When you look at the scientific research on how we all behave as patients then it all get’s rather scary. The above is a direct quote from one of the most comprehensive studies on our ability to take in information when in a consultation. The study also showed that the greater the amount of information presented, the lower the proportion correctly recalled. Worried yet? Well brace yourself as it get’s a bit worse…

“….almost half of the information that is remembered is incorrect.”

The mathematicians amongst you will now have calculated that in the worse case you could forget 80% of what you are told, correctly retained about 10% and have about the same amount of incorrect information carefully “retained” as well!

Factor 3: Complexity

Each of us has somewhere around 37 trillion living cells of approximately 200 different types that all have to work harmoniously in various complicated intertwined, interdependent systems to keep us healthy. When things go wrong it can all get very complex. As most of us don’t have a medical or nursing degree it’s hardly surprising we struggle to understand what’s happening to us when we are ill.

Factor 4: Ambiguity

Frequently, especially in the earlier stages of a given disease or illness, the symptoms can be just the tip of the iceberg, and frequently early symptoms can be vague (tired all the time anyone?) or unusual for the given problem (Any fans of “House” will know where I’m coming from!)

Help us understand

All doctors have ongoing reviews and training on how to communicate with patients as it’s well proven that the more a patient understands correctly what’s happening the more likely they are to take their medication correctly or comply with advice about the myriad of other things that can be done to improve their health.

Here’s some of the things we do at our practice to try to help our patients understand their conditions better:

Face to face consultations

Wherever possible we encourage patients to see the GP in person, we find people are more relaxed when they feel they know their GP and can read body language etc much more.

Longer consultations

For most situations we recommend a 30 minute consultation and we can arrange longer if circumstances require it. Removing the sense of urgency, allowing time for checking understanding, answering questions and recapping key points all helps

See the same GP

Not only is it nicer to see a GP who knows you and your health history a recent Norwegian study demonstrated it’s actually means we are live longer, get admitted to hospital less and are less likely to need a doctor out of hours. However there’s a problem…

“Delivering continuity of care is becoming ‘increasingly difficult’ for GPs due to ‘intense workload and workforce pressures’, as well as ‘the need to prioritise access to GP services’.”

Those are the words of the head of the Royal College of General Practitioners in October 2021.

At OxMed Private General Practice are very focussed on ensuring you can see the doctor you want to and we know our patients value the continuity of care we provide.

Relaxing our patients

We do everything we can to help you relax when you visit us. From the calm waiting area where you can relax and have a coffee whilst you wait (Ed: unless the doctor has forbidden it!) to being reassured we will have time to take great care of you, everything is done to allow you to “take it all in”. We also schedule our GPs to minimise their time pressures which further helps the effectiveness of your visit.

Patient care coordinators

Every elite athlete will tell you that the majority of their success is down to what they do before and after their competition. Well not all of our patients are super fit athletes (and we hope our consults don’t feel like a marathon!) but the principles still apply. So bring on our Patient Care Coordinators – AKA the “can do” team. We have one mega mission:

“To make everything from first contact with the practice to the last “loose end” of any onward care as smooth and efficiently as possible.“

We love it when a doctor reports back that a patient mentioned us in a consultation and felt well looked after – that’s a “Made my day” moment for me for sure!

Your clinical notes

After every consultation you will get sent a copy of the consultation notes where all the important stuff is written down. We always incorporate a summary at the end of each set of notes which is written in plain English (rather than “medical speak”) so you can read and re-read the important points whenever you wish.

Is there anything else I can help you with today?

I hope this has given you a flavour of why communication between health care professionals and patient is a lot trickier than you might have first envisaged. If you have any further ideas how we can make your visit to us better please do let us know. Meantime next time you hear “The doctor will see you now”, take a deep breath and relax.