A good doctor, saves a being

Written by: GRISHMA R. PATEL, CLASS OF 2023

In an era of increasingly individualised medicine and escalating clinical complexity, the effective conversation between doctor-patient is greater than ever. Building mutual relationship will help physician to have a closer look in patients' lives. This ensures that the patient does not miss out with helpful values that might assist physician in their treatment.

In clinical practice, respect is base to the formation of genuine relationships, strengthening physician's duty, and encouraging authentic interactions. Effectively conveying respect may have positive effects on fair health outcomes, mutual trust and patient's satisfaction.

A supportive environment or a confidential place should be provided to a patient, as this would help them to speak openly about their potentially sensitive issues and if patient still covers up about their condition then by simply asking follow up question like 'what else can be effective. All the necessary evidence based risk factors, benefits, values, appropriate care plan and other alternative options should put forward to patient for their better understanding.

The importance of being transparent and fully disclosure is, it will not mislead the patient, it will overcome gaps and needs, it will allow documenting successful strategies and plans to overpower barriers and challenges helping patient to evaluate and recreating better efforts for themselves for their better future.

Decision making partner is an ambiguous context-it can be referred to doctorhealthcare team to understand better about the disease, investigation and treatment while in contrast it can be between doctor and next of kin for the adults who lack capacity to decide.

Forming a continuous learning is another ace method to build a flexible relation by patient giving a regular feedback about challenges and progress in their health. This enables forming an interpersonal connection and helps to penetrate a deeper level of care. Constant feedback can help physician in later circumstances by changing course correction and care strategy.

This feedback results in better healthcare outputs and long term sustainability of patient-care.

On the other hand one of the major concerns in being “Too caring” about the patient is the mindset of comforting the needs of patients at all cost. This comes due to the fear of offending the patient or out of the insecurity of losing the patient. It is at this point where doctors don’t even realise the problem of overprescribing the drugs, especially when dealing with patients with chronic diseases and patients with chronic pain problems. Then there are few spots where both physician and patient will trick each other.

Prescription drug abuse is one of the main global healthcare issues and doctors are at the helm of it. Often the doctors are scared that if they don’t address to the needs of their patients by providing them with surplus pain medicines, the patient might transfer their care to some other physician.

Physician will prescribe unneeded multiple medicines, ordering unnecessary advance level of report will help physicians funding themselves more.

Gen Z's are more likely to develop a substance abuse problem than a millennial. Thus, Gen Z's are more probable to visit physician, fabricating about their condition receiving the pain medicine prescription such medicines are not available as OTC drugs and illegally selling those medicines.

Therefore, I’d like to conclude my discussion by saying that a physician should undertake various described communication strategies to bind better with the patients and establish a healthy doctor-patient relationship that exists on layers deeper than formal interactions without invading or risking their privacy at the same time. Simultaneously healthcare providers should be aware that whatever a patient says might not be true or accurate and realise that they also have moral and social responsibility associated with healthcare and rather should not be cornered by threats and blackmail or the insecurity that on denying the patient of unnecessary treatment might end up in losing the patient out of their care.

In closing, a good communication of doctorpatient will lead the way to promoting desired results and in preventing adverse outcomes.