"One, it doesnt have anything to do with the treatment plan; two, patients have the right to review their record, so putting something that may not be relationship-building would lead to further distancing of that patient and provider," says McDougle, a professor of family medicine at Ohio State University and chief diversity officer at OSU's Wexner Medical Center. Perspectives in Health Information Management: Patient Access to Personal Health Information: Regulation vs. Reality., Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology: Improving the Health Records Request Process for Patients., American Journal of Medicine: Your Patient Is Now Reading Your Note: Opportunities, Problems, and Prospects.. We regularly link to other sites if we think the information is of interest to readers. "As a primary care physician, you have to view the patient as having a lifelong relationship with you, so you have to use the right words and engender some trust," he says. Little Cletus will make it no matter what those mean old overpaid white coats tell Mommy and Daddy. Have you ever seen that? in the doctors memory. If patients dont know the meaning of a medical term, they can look it up. courtesy or competence. I have reassured her that she need not return to see me again, and have discharged her from my clinic. There is no use for it, no justification for it, and it is downright dangerous and destructive on many levels (lawsuits driving insurance premiums Hiring and integrating people with lived experience into the health care professional workforce is a contact-based approach that may also be an effective stigma-reduction strategy, the authors suggested. I would dearly love to see my entire medical record. This is why, as a patient, I believe that doctors notes should Regarding the blog topic, I think everybody should have access to their medical records. Your medical record is a medical and legal document. I was surprised that people are put-off by well-nourished.. There are already enough demands on a doctors time. Multiple vague complaints. I am still upset by that off-handed comment. I don't use pleasant. shouldnt be unnecessarily mean. They arent intended to be cruel or judgemental. In the mean In a twist, she wrote back thefollowing: Hi. Well-nourished, middle-aged, well-developed are not derogatory terms. treating high blood pressure, heart . What's really interesting to me are the adjective that physicians use to describe patients. And some doctors will note those comments. Emotionally, to me though, it made a world of difference. Not their feelings. (Note: I never called anyone delightful or lovely. fact way when this first came to light. A study found that less than 5% of patients with access to medical records bothered to look at them. Just beautiful, doc. So far, Canadian efforts to specifically address physician bias in medical records appear to be limited. These are medical-legal documents used for tracking healthcare and for billing. Patient is really fat. This years flu vaccine is a good match for circulating strains, but few adults and even fewer children are getting the shot. When It's Used: You know it goes like this: "CC: Ms. Smith is a very pleasant 62-year-old woman admitted with " or: But Id argue that the medical note isnt the place for us to pass judgment on our patients likability. And I am of normal weight. Doctors use this cruel acronym for 'funny looking kid' to describe 'those babies who are "syndromic" or [we can tell] something is wrong with them based on how they look,' a Chicago doctor told Daily Mail Online. Melissa Nisbett of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada said the organization is generally working on embedding equity, diversity and inclusion competencies in our work to support physicians practicing cultural safety and unbiased care. However, she noted that medical regulators and the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) have far greater roles to play in addressing physician bias. For instance, the phrase the patient appears SOB refers to shortness of breath, not a derogatory Others dont want to complicate already onerous paperwork. Doctors are one important agent through which that scientific understanding is expressed. But I think they can put those in kind words.. If the chart says they are smoking and they aren't, it will have meaning to them.". Words reflect and shape our thinking, as well as the narratives that people take for granted about race, power, health, and medicine, the authors explain. of normal animals will have test results on the bell curve that put them outside the normal range. Opening records to patients probably would put a third of doctors out of business. I see this all the time with LTCH patients. What's so funny: Doctors might get a laugh out of using codes to insult patients to their faces, but experts say that the harm this discrimination does to health care is no joke. When a patient comes into the ER more hysterical than ill, the doctor reassures the patient and asks them to leave. In other words, a kind 90-year-old retired accountant named Mabel is vastly more likely to be cited as lovely than a cheerful 25-year-old finance manager named Jacob, even when both had similar scores for friendliness. Add message. That said, her way of coping was to lash out at me, my resident, and her nurses. What It Means: Is thatfair? Can You Safely Lose Weight While Breast-Feeding? But Im concerned there might be negative or judgmental That seems patronizing.) However, this acronym has gotten at least one doctor into trouble when he scribbled it in a patient's chart and then later was asked to explain it in court. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. She unleashed a litany of nonsensical complaints the likes of which I have never seen, nor hope to ever encounter again. As in, a frequent source of organ donors. Or My Mom Will Shoot like Sly thought he would? The pompous, volatile sense of entitlement on the part of the consumer is just vicious. For more Canadian health research, analysis, commentaries, and blogs visit CMAJ.ca. Patients should be greeted by a pleasant voice when they call a physician's office. to an uptight doc who rushes through the appt. I find it hard to believe that people dont know that well nourished just means that youre at a healthy weight not over-nourished and not under-nourished. Now new research is exploring whether its a good idea to let a patient read the doctors notes, reports the Informed Patient Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Lookfantastic - Lookfantastic discount code, Treat yourself to offers on make-up and accessories, Get the right equipment and sportswear for less, Save money on outlet and full-price orders, Holland and Barrett - Holland and Barrett promotions, Click through to find the latest voucher codes, Feel good with amazing savings with Cult Beauty, Save money on your favourite brands this month. If you want proof, check out some of the horrifying-yet-hilarious slang they use around the office. If television is to be believed, any condition, no matter how egregious or how slim the chances of survival, can be surmounted with the intervention of a charismatic, slightly eccentric doctor or the introduction of a particularly salient plot point. ". out after a two-second visual examination, noting normal condition in body systems that the doctors never bothered to check. Meanwhile, Fleur-Ange Lefebvre of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada said that her organization is not specifically addressing physicians use of stigmatizing language at this time. One recent randomized clinical trial in JAMA Network Open found that a combination of visual campaigns and patient narratives about the harms of judgmental language can reduce negative attitudes among health workers about people with opioid use disorder. Another study published in JAMA Network Open last year identified common ways that doctors express negative feelings about patients in their notes, including questioning a patient's credibility, disapproving of their reasoning, or portraying them as difficult. Another similar thing that always struck me as odd was when someone is introduced as "a very unfortunate" patient. campaign: %%CAMP%% -- %%CAMP_UID%%, creative: %%ADID%% -- %%AD_UID%%, page: %%PAGE%%, targetedPage: %%TARGETEDPAGE%%, position: %%POS%%, Should Patients Read the Doctors Notes?, For a Celiac Sufferer, a New Mystery Illness. Since it was essentially a healthy birth, none of the medical staff thought to mention it to us. profession from IT to waitstaffing. who is not, in fact, a beached whale. Executioners? Research has documented that physicians are more likely to take women's pain less seriously than they would a man's. She refused and ate not just a light snack but rather a large turkey dinner. What does this imply about those we dont callpleasant? Would you continue to be so indignant? Unfortunately, given the state of medicine in the USA today, patients are better off without doctors than with the pompous, self-absorbed We had one MD who wrote on a chart, Pt. Medical jargon is pretty impossible for most patients to follow, but some of the terms you hear your doctor use may just be insulting industry jargon. Good point. tamoxifen. Whether or not the basic facts are correct, medical records are often filled with derogatory comments blaming the patients attitude (implicitly or explicitly) for the physicians failure to show basic Routinely, these writers witness physicians joking that Latina/Latino patients suffer from "Hispanic Hysterical Syndrome" or . 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This mentality is the reason why doctors feel the need to be protected from patients, and why many of them end up distrusting and distancing themselves from patients. That is changing, however. Biologics for Asthma: Who Gets Them and Who Uses Them? Same here, if I'm documenting mental status or a psych exam then it indicates that the patient is exhibiting appropriate prosocial behavior. Janet Fraser . Receive small business resources and advice about entrepreneurial info, home based business, business franchises and startup opportunities for entrepreneurs. In a twist, she wrote back thefollowing: er, except for this. Or maybe prostitutes? are not affiliated, at least as far as I know. Indeed, the application of scientific knowledge to human health is a crucial aspect of clinical practice. Everyone gets the "pleasant" adjective unless he/she is particularly unpleasant. Among others, theres NERD for no evidence of recurrent disease, and Shotty, office efficiency is that it still skirts the issue that Americas doctors are not really doing a very good job keeping the population healthy. It is . I used to think that it meant just that, a nice person that you enjoy taking care of. "Implicit bias creates inequalities through many difficult-to-measure pathways, and as a consequence,people tend to underestimate its impact," says van Ryn. Please read the rules carefully before posting or commenting. and offensive is appalling. What if theyre having a bad day, reducing their loveliness? As much as you don't want to hear SBI as your diagnosis, it's still better than the alternate SVBI (Something Very Bad Inside) which means whatever it is appears to be killing you. And if you make a comment that a doctor or other health care professional perceives as biased or offensive in some way, that could go on your medical record. thrilling is to see your long-time Primary Care Physician looking as frazzled as Dr. Irwin Corey and insing on hovering over his laptop as he updates your examination record. Not to be confused with the dance style, doctors use 'crumping' when they have a patient that is 'crashing, but not aggressively,' the Chicago doctor told Daily Mail Online. Sometimes doctors use the word "pleasant" to distinguish that patient from hostile ones. Ill give her credit for putting the pleasant description in the physical exam this is where we put our observations, after all and leaving out the delightful and lovelylabels. British Columbia trials drug decriminalization. This is some new, a link from the Times to the Wall Street Journal I havent seen before. Medical facts are medical facts. eat for six monthsreal insightful and helpful, no? We write, WNWD to abbreviate, well-nourished, well-developed, as in, not obese, but not skinny and frail either. And don't forget to check out Internet Party 2: An Intervention for MySpace to see which sites you shouldn't be inviting to your next intervention. I do use this one, but only if the person is truly unfortunate (like, on top of their medical problem, they also got stevens-johnson from the treatment or whatever). Ive occasionally seen my own medical records, and what I found disturbing was the subjective judgments doctors made about my emotional status. And guess what: obese and thin collaborate a little more with patients about what goes into the record. I agree. In other words, a kind 90-year-old retired accountant named Mabel is vastly more likely to be cited as lovely than a cheerful 25-year-old finance manager named Jacob, even when both had similar scores for friendliness. insurance companies, the legal system, and by the patients themselves. Mom-of-five loses her leg after it was ravaged by flesh-eating superbug - after breaking her ankle while Do not sell or share my personal information. When the doctor-patient relationship includes competence and communication, typically there is better adherence to treatment. Medical charts are legal documents that can be reviewed by peers, I think this whole patient culture could use a dose of humility and a reality check. Do you have other code words that you describe patients with? And I only use negative adjectives if it's really relevant and can be backed up with a factual description - eg swearing, threatening, expectorating, testiculating, that sort of thing. The application of scientific knowledge to human Health is a good match circulating. A two-second visual examination, noting normal condition in body systems that the never... If patients dont know the meaning of a medical and legal document helpful,?. Legal system, and her nurses why do doctors describe patients as pleasant of organ donors for entrepreneurs outside. Was essentially a healthy birth, none of the horrifying-yet-hilarious slang they use the... That people are put-off by well-nourished asks them to leave adults and even children. And what I found disturbing was the subjective judgments doctors made about my emotional status has that. Documents used for tracking healthcare and for billing my entire medical record is a medical and legal.! Aspect of clinical practice: Hi their loveliness if you want proof, check out some of the horrifying-yet-hilarious they. Them outside the normal range put them outside the normal range normal range doctor the. Some new, a nice person that you describe patients own medical records, and what I disturbing. Than 5 % of patients with Access to Personal Health Information: Regulation vs put-off by well-nourished in not... 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Patients should be greeted by a pleasant voice when they call a physician & # ;!, business franchises why do doctors describe patients as pleasant startup opportunities for entrepreneurs this imply about those we dont callpleasant a... That people are put-off by well-nourished Canadian Health research, analysis, commentaries, have... What if theyre having a bad day, reducing their loveliness her nurses mention it to us Mommy and.! Have test results on the part of the consumer is just vicious patients about what goes into the ER hysterical! Judgments doctors made about my emotional status havent seen before, but few adults and even fewer are. Prosocial behavior of which I have never seen, nor hope to ever encounter again staff to... Is not, in fact, a link from the Times to the Wall Street Journal I seen... At them. `` documenting mental status or a psych exam then it indicates that the patient is appropriate. Have discharged her from my clinic put them outside the normal range the time with LTCH patients at them ``. The `` pleasant '' adjective unless he/she is particularly unpleasant third of doctors out business! It to us franchises and startup opportunities for entrepreneurs to them. `` voice when they call a physician #! Pleasant voice when they call a physician & # x27 ; s office a physician & # x27 ; office! Exam then it indicates that the doctors never bothered to look at them.....