Doctors are more likely to misdiagnose 'difficult' people
Patients who appear to waste doctors’ time or behave rudely are easy targets for the contempt of over-stretched staff
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.For harried doctors, there’s no more frustrating sight than an aggressive patient. When the NHS is under constant pressure, patients who appear to waste doctors’ time or behave rudely are easy targets for the contempt of the over-stretched staff.
This has important clinical impacts. Research published today in the British Medical Journal shows that aggressive or demanding patients are more likely to be misdiagnosed. This is because the effort of dealing with them distracts doctors from making sense of clinical information. In the study, doctors were 42 per cent more likely to misdiagnose a difficult patient who was displaying the symptoms of a complex condition.
This is no small problem, for the NHS is, according to recent reports, paying up to £4m a week in compensation to patients who are misdiagnosed and approximately 12,500 patients die every year because of medical blunders. A tenth of the money spent on compensation is paid out because doctors had missed the signs of cancer – a potentially fatal slip.
In the study, “difficult patients” included those who didn’t expect a doctor to take them seriously. Those who have symptoms that are difficult to diagnose may have already been passed from pillar to post; their experiences may feed into their tricky attitude. The fact that this might mean they become even harder to diagnose is troubling indeed. The BMJ recommends doctors and medical students should become aware of these compounding factors. The virtue of patience should always be exercised in the care of patients.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments