Cultivating the Physician-Patient Relationship in Ophthalmology

• Published in: American journal of ophthalmology Vol. 223; pp. A1 - A3
• Main Authors: Afshari, Natalie A., Lian, Rebecca R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-03-2021; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Cataracts; Delivery of Health Care - organization & administration; Eye surgery; Humans; Monet, Claude (1840-1926); Ophthalmology - organization & administration; Perceptions; Physician patient relationships; Physician-Patient Relations; Physicians; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; United States
• ISSN: 0002-9394; 1879-1891
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2020.11.009

[...]if the same patient is seen when the clinic is running an hour late or if the physician is experiencing burnout, the clinical interaction is far more likely to be perceived as difficult. [...]instead of labeling a patient as “difficult,” we suggest using terminology that acknowledges the multifaceted nature of clinical difficulty, such as “challenging clinical interaction,” to describe such encounters. [...]1 study showed that patients with low vision scored lower in physical functioning and role limitations than did patients with congestive heart failure or depression.11 Therefore, even if visual acuity is significantly improved with treatment, it is very possible that any residual disturbance could still noticeably limit a person's activities or impact their quality of life. Even if outcomes for a procedure are outstanding, a gap between expectation and reality could easily strain the physician-patient relationship and lead to a challenging interaction. [...]along with adopting practices such as the breathe-out technique, aimed at reframing clinical interaction goals and physician emotion regulation,9 actively managing patient expectations is a strategy for decreasing difficult encounters that may be particularly important in ophthalmology.