Difficult patients 'exhibit worse symptoms'
Monday 31st January 2011
Patients that clinicians find difficult to deal with suffer from worse symptoms than those who are not, according to a study.
Research by Sheri Hinchey from the Tripler Army Medical Centre in Honolulu and Jeffrey Jackson from the Zablocki VA Medical Centre in Milwaukee investigated 750 adults, assessing their symptoms, expectations, overall health and how they functioned physically, socially, mentally and emotionally.
The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, showed that the 18 per cent of patients that are seen as difficult by their doctor are more likely to report worse symptoms two weeks after attending a consultation.
It was found that these difficult patients are less likely to trust or be satisfied with their doctor as a result of unmet expectations.
This comes after health secretary Andrew Lansley said the NHS must focus more on the quality of results for patients rather than cost.
Written by Martin Lambert
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