Better Ways Handle Negative Interactions With Your Patients

Written By: Emily Mendez

Learn how to manage challenging situations in your interactions with patients.

If you are like most physicians, you probably have experienced your fair share of negative interactions with patients. Maybe there was a misunderstanding between you and your patient. Or, perhaps they were already in a bad mood when they arrived at your office. Whatever the reason, now your patient is upset and unhappy with the consultation. So, what can you do to make communication more comfortable and more effective? In this article, we’ll talk about some things that can lead to adverse interactions with patients and how to improve the situation.

There are many reasons why interactions with a patient can turn sour. Sometimes the patient doesn’t feel listened to, or they don’t agree with a diagnosis. Other times, the physician is overworked, which might affect their empathy skills. The patient’s experience at the clinic might also lead to a negative interaction. Long wait times and inadequate documentation systems can cause a patient to feel frustrated.

What are the implications of negative interactions between patients and doctors? Negative interactions can lead a patient to feel dissatisfied with their medical care. They might feel anxious, concerned or frustrated. It could also lead to a lack of trust in the doctor-patient relationship.

Negative interactions not only affect patients but they also affect the physician too. Negative patient interactions can lead to a dislike of a patient, avoiding the patient or feelings of stress or anxiety.

So, how can the problem be fixed? The best way to deal with challenging patient interactions is to prevent them in the first place. If it is not possible to avoid a negative interaction, then you should deal with the problematic situation using effective communication, active listening and problem-solving. Here are some tips to help you deal with negative patient interactions.

References:

Related posts:

The legendary musical career of Sir Elton John has been the subject of numerous tributes recently, but are they worthy of him?

Discussing health and nutrition hacks with Liz Fox, director of sports nutrition at the University of Florida. We really liked the one yesterday so we decided to book another one for today. Did some…

Most commentators thought Mark Zuckerberg did well in his testimony before the U.S. Congress last month. Following his appearance, the company’s stock recovered part of its losses from assorted…