Survey results show that doctors consider patients' opinions to be the ``least important information''
There are many posts on social media that say, ``I waited for a long time at the hospital, but when it was my turn, I was surprised that the doctor's appointment was over so quickly.'' A survey of more than 1,000 patients and clinicians found that patients' opinions are often ignored, even for diseases that are difficult to identify through testing and often rely on patient self-reporting. I did.
Attribution of neuropsychiatric symptoms and prioritisation of evidence in the diagnosis of neuropsychiatric lupus: mixed methods analysis of patient and clinician perspectives from the international INSPIRE study | Rheumatology | Oxford Academic
Clinicians rank patient views as least important in diagnosis, study finds | University of Cambridge
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/clinicians-rank-patient-views-as-least-important-in-diagnosis-study-finds
Doctors rank patients' own assessment of their illness as least important in diagnosis – new study
https://theconversation.com/doctors-rank-patients-own-assessment-of-their-illness-as-least-important-in-diagnosis-new-study-219997
In this study, published in the medical journal Rheumatology on December 18, 2023, a team from the University of Cambridge and King's College London focused on neuropsychiatric lupus, an autoimmune disease that is particularly difficult to diagnose. We looked at 13 types of clues used in diagnosis and how clinicians evaluate them.
Neuropsychiatric lupus is a disease of systemic lupus erythematosus in which the immune system attacks its own body, and it particularly affects the brain, spinal cord, and other nerves, causing symptoms such as headaches and hallucinations. It has been pointed out that these neuropsychiatric symptoms are easily overlooked because they are not visible like a rash, and are likely to lead to a decline in the patient's QOL and early death.
When we surveyed 400 clinicians about the things they prioritize when making a diagnosis, we found that only 4% of them included patient self-assessment in their top three cues. Although many clinicians acknowledged their lack of knowledge about neuropsychiatric lupus and the limited accuracy of testing for the disease, they still considered their assessments and testing their top priority. He said.
On the other hand, patient self-reporting was dismissed by clinicians as the lowest-ranking source of information. Additionally, almost half, or 46%, of the 676 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in the study said they were never or rarely asked about their opinion of their disease.
Melanie Sloan, lead author of the study, and her colleagues believe that the reason patients' opinions are often discounted is because 'objective' and 'accurate' are confused. Objectivity is certainly important, but in rheumatic diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, objective testing can lead to misdiagnosis or oversight. For example, Sloan and colleagues noted that it's common for a person to have a completely normal brain scan when they actually have neuropsychiatric lupus.
The study also highlighted that although doctors try to be as objective as possible, in reality, diagnoses are influenced by personal characteristics of the doctor and the patient. For example, male doctors were more likely than female doctors to feel that patients were overemphasizing their symptoms, and female patients were more likely to be misdiagnosed as ``it's just my imagination.''
Physicians face a lack of resources such as a large number of appointments and short consultation times, making it difficult to listen to everything patients have to say. There are also diseases that present. Sloan et al. state, 'In medicine, both the depth of a patient's 'lived experience' and the breadth of a physician's 'learned experience' need to be respected and valued. This will allow for faster and more accurate diagnoses.' There are many potential benefits, including:
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in Science, Posted by log1l_ks