Premature Closure is a dangerous mistake ..

from all types of medical malpractice and medical mistakes , premature closure is at the top of the list as the most common cause of medical misdiagnosis and mistreatment. just few months back i was reviewing articles regarding this topic , it was clearly showing that premature closure is when the doctor decide that he gathered enough evidence to make a diagnosis and start treatment plan while he is still in the premature stage of diagnosis.

multiple reasons can be summarized for this common mistake:

1- doctors who are juniors or with very limited experience.

2- busy hospitals where patients not getting enough time to be investigated completely.

3- rare diseases and atypical presentation.

4- communication limitations like language barriers and mental weakness.

from the above list , it is so clear that doctors premature diagnosis and treatment is the most striking mechanism for error as we know that doctors are the group responsible for giving the treatment advice not the patient. so , whatever the limitation is , the doctors still need to follow screening recommendations and not take decisions in premature stage of diagnosis or based on limited information. for junior doctors always consult your seniors even if you are sure about your diagnosis take second opinion it will change many things for you and for your patient, it will save your carer.

Doctors are fighting with you not against you !!

You walk inside any hospital and find the waiting area crowded with patients while doctors are setting behind closed doors calling patients in their order to enter for examination. you see the patients screaming from pain and suffering from terminal diseases and struggling to stay  calm till they get called. so , if this is your first visit to the place properly you will feel that those doctors are ignorant. but as a matter of fact they are not. they are setting behind their closed doors hearing each scream of pain and feeling each discomfortable feeling that patient have.

we are fighting in the same battle against same enemy … we are brothers and sisters in the same army ….  if we can not feel each other feelings then we will crumble and we will never win our battle.

medical care is a process where both patients and doctors get involved in healing protocol, there are thousands of health care providers divided in teams and departments working for 24 hours to provide the demand for maintaining health care. as it is showing from the discussion above , commitment from both doctors and patients needed to accomplish this mission.

Do patients have the right to become angry ?

Angry patient is a common phrase in doctor patient communication courses. we are facing them daily and regardless of the situation that made them angry you will be forced to deal with them in professional manner. my question is that, do patients have the right to become angry ? and if yes in which situations anger behaviors can be accepted and till which extent ?

there is no doubt that both patients and doctors are at the end just human beings and they carry both poles of feelings , they become angry as anybody , but in the medical profession angry attitude carry the potential to disturb the management process and hence patients quality of care.

from my practice i collected some reasons that may cause patients angry attitude, these are:

1- patient long waiting time.

2- doctors lack of proper communication skills.

3- incomplete instructions given to patients regarding their diseases.

4- elective procedures delay for favor of more urgent procedures (lack of patients understanding for triage system)

5- incorrect patient understanding for private medical practice as they think that they pay the doctors to obey for their recommendations.

6- patients hidden agenda – or reasons – for seeking medical advice such as expecting sick leave or admission while their condition not worth that

for sure this list is not complete and more reasons can be added but i think most of the reasons are mentioned in the list. it is brightly clear for me that patients have the right to be angry if they were mistreated or not briefly instructed regarding their health problem. on the other hand , being angry for accepted delay or postpone for elective procedure – even if private – is something accepted from quality of care point of view.

at the end i suggest more patient education about hospital triage system and health care provider apology could be proper solutions for such situation. it is above all an argument of communication and we can do better with developing  communication skills of doctors.

The Doctor Advice

Being A DOCTOR in the 21 century is not something easy as it was few decades ago ! as most of the population are well educated and have access to latest medical resources via internet and social media. one of the biggest challenges which we encounter in daily practice  is educating patients through providing current medical updates and trusted resources for medical information. this blog – without any financial interest – will provide both doctors and patients with advices from practical point of view.