'Difficult' patients more likely to experience worse symptoms
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - 10:01
in Health & Medicine
'Difficult' patient-clinician encounters have a negative impact on patients' health outcomes in the short-term, according to a new study by Sheri Hinchey from the Tripler Army Medical Centre in Honolulu and Jeffrey Jackson from the Zablocki VA Medical Centre in Milwaukee. Their findings show that nearly 18 percent of patients are perceived as difficult by their physicians and are less likely to trust or be satisfied with their doctor. Importantly, these patients are also more likely to report worse symptoms two weeks after the consultation. Hinchey and Jackson's work has just been published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.