The Doctor-Patient Relationship: When Patients Do Not Tell the Truth
Compass Points
Premiere Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2012This activity offers CE credit for:
- Physicians (CME)
- Other
All other clinicians will receive a Certificate of Attendance stating this activity was certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Credit Expiration Date:
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Note: Credit Is No Longer Available
 | Robert S. Kennedy, MA Medical Program Director CME Outfitters, LLC Bethesda, MD |
Discussion is one of the two fundamental ingredients of medical care. The fundamental ingredient is the expert knowledge that both doctor and patient bring to the encounter: doctors are experts in diagnosis and treatment, and patients are experts on their own history, values, intuitions, and experience. Talk is the fundamental instrument by which the doctor–patient relationship is crafted and by which therapeutic goals are established, measured, and achieved.(1) The communication between doctors and patients can become dysfunctional for various reasons, including patients’ not telling their doctors the whole truth about their health or illness, habits or concerns. The most widespread example regards adherence to medication or treatment.(2)
This Compass Points™ article highlights the clinician-patient communication dynamic and details the salient areas where miscommunication can impact the therapeutic relationship. A number of common issues result in patients’ failure to come forth with information, some because of patients’ personal issues and others because of the clinician-patient relationship.
- Roter D, Hall J. Doctors Talking With Patients/Patients Talking With Doctors: Improving Communication in Medical Visits. 2nd ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood; 2006.
- Goold S, Lipkin M. The doctor–patient relationship: challenges, opportunities, and strategies. J Gen Intern Med. 1999;14(S1):S26–S33. PMID: None.
To improve awareness about the importance of the clinician-patient relationship and how it may affect health care.
At the end of this CE activity, participants should be able to:
- Define the many reasons for which patients may lie or withhold information in the clinician-patient relationship.
- Routinely include a review of patient expectations in clinical discussions and an exploration of all of the information that they wish to share.
- Discuss openness and honesty in the clinical relationship and develop heightened awareness of the role of and impact of the clinician in this relationship.
This activity is supported by CME Outfitters, LLC.
Physicians and other health care providers interested in improving the clinician–patient relationship.
CME Credit (Physicians):
CME Outfitters, LLC, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
CME Outfitters, LLC, designates this enduring material for a maximum of .5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Post-tests, credit request forms, and activity evaluations must be completed online at www.cmeoutfitters.com/TST712 (requires free account activation), and participants can print their certificate or statement of credit immediately (80% pass rate required). This website supports all browsers except Internet Explorer for Mac. For complete technical requirements and privacy policy, visit www.neurosciencecme.com/technical.asp.
Disclosure Declaration
It is the policy of CME Outfitters, LLC, to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all of their CE activities. Faculty must disclose to the participants any relationships with commercial companies whose products or devices may be mentioned in faculty presentations, or with the commercial supporter of this CE activity. CME Outfitters, LLC, has evaluated, identified, and attempted to resolve any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that these relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.
Robert Kennedy, MA has no disclosures to report.
Howard Bliwise, MD (peer/content reviewer) has no disclosures to report.
Joy Bartnett Leffler, MLA, NASW, CSE (planning committee) has no disclosures to report.
Sandra Haas Binford, MAEd (planning committee) has no disclosures to report.
Unlabeled Use Disclosure
Faculty of this CE activity may include discussions of products or devices that are not currently labeled for use by the FDA. The faculty have been informed of their responsibility to disclose to the audience if they will be discussing off-label or investigational uses (any uses not approved by the FDA) of products or devices.
CME Outfitters, LLC, and the faculty do not endorse the use of any product outside of the FDA labeled indications. Medical professionals should not utilize the procedures, products, or diagnosis techniques discussed during this activity without evaluation of their patient for contraindications or dangers of use.
Questions about this activity? Call us at 877.CME.PROS (877.263.7767).
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