Question

A physician admitted an elderly patient to the hospital , where she was treated for an irregular heartbeat and chest pain. The patient was competent to make her own decisions about a course of treatment , but her opinionated and outspoken daughter repeatedly second- guessed the physician’s recommendations with medical information she had obtained from the internet. The patient seemed to encourage her daughter to remain active in her care and encouraged her to ask questions.

What might the physician have said to the patients daughter to help resolve the situation in an amicable way? Explain your answer

Answer 1

Elderly patients usually expect more attention and care, but it is given that the patient is competent to make her own medical decisions. So, the physician can speak only to the patient and take her decision regarding the treatment. The patient’s daughter can voice her opinions to her parent, but at the end of the discussion, only what the physician and the patient finalized will be recorded in the medical documents. Therapeutic communication techniques should be used by the physician throughout the process.

However, in this case, the physician needs to be assertive to deal with the situation in an amicable way, informing about the patient-specific factors (both biological and social factors), the influence of current and the past medical history can make her better understand the significance of all these factors in determining the treatment.