Most Hospital Patients Unable to Identify Their Physicians, Survey Finds
By Karen Barrow
"Researchers at the University of Chicago interviewed 2,807 adults admitted to the school’s hospital over a 15-month period. The patients were asked about the roles of the various physicians attending to them and to name the doctors on those teams. Medical teams consisted of three to four people, including medical students, residents and attending physicians."
- 75% could not name a single doctor taking care of them.
- Of the 25% who responded, only 2 in 5 got it right.
- The patients who claimed to understand the roles of their doctors were more likely to correctly identify at least one of their physicians.
- Patients able to name one of their physicians also were more likely to be unsatisfied with their care.
- Patients lose track of their doctors with frequent shift changes in a busy hospital.
"Whether patients need to be familiar with hospital staff is open to debate, according to some experts. 'Do you really need to know who your doctor is, or is it more important to know some processes that will help you get at the information you need?' said Dr. Ernest Moy, medical officer at the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality."
Read the whole article at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/30/health/30patients.html?_r=1
When I took care of patients in the hospital, I would see this not infrequently. "Did the cardiologist come to see you yet?" I would ask. "I don't know," the patient would reply, "Some tall, skinny doctor was here this morning." Turns out, that was a physical therapist.
Have you ever been confused about who was taking care of you in the hospital? Why do you think that happens? Do you agree with Dr. Moy that information about how you're doing is more important than the specifics of who's taking care of you?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment