Seasoned health care providers understand that different patients experience the same diagnosis or condition very differently. In the old days we might withhold information from patients as to not cause them distress. While that may be unethical by today’s standards, there was some truth (supported by current research) to the belief that the diagnosis is perhaps equally or more impactful to quality of life than the condition. A modern approach involves giving as much information as possible so the patient is soothed with knowledge rather than ignorance. Education can also mitigate the negative impact of the new diagnosis and set the patient on the best management course.
Miscommunication is part of human interaction, but that doesn’t absolve us of our responsibility as health care providers to do our level best to educate our patients. Most of the second opinions I see are sought due to poor communication by the doctor rather than medical errors or misdiagnosis. That is important for us to remember because, like the patient’s interpretation of a diagnosis, perception is reality when it comes to their assessment of our competence. The best glaucoma care requires us to walk the fine line between unnecessarily upsetting and inadequately informing our patients.
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