Patients come to your office or enter the hospital due to varying reasons. They may come in complaining about their headache, difficulty of breathing, vomiting and other myriad of symptoms. However, there are things that may remain untold especially when you don’t get the chance to ask them about it. Here are 5 secrets your patients are not telling you: #1. They are taking alternative medicines and supplements. During their visit, they may not tell you about these herbs or vitamins they are taking as they may assume you, as doctors or other healthcare providers, are not into recommending these things. Some of them may also be afraid that you look down on alternative medicines and worry about what you might say if they told you about it. Knowing this, however, helps when prescribing any medicine to them as some herbs have drug interactions that may negatively affect your patient. #2. They stopped taking their prescribed medicines or defied other doctor’s orders. Many patients believe that telling you this is a big no-no. However, you know that there are negative consequences when they don’t inform you about this. For example, a patient stopped taking his antibiotic even before the prescribed duration of treatment because he developed rashes, but he did not tell you. Upon his follow-up visit, his lab results still show high amounts of bacteria, hence, you prescribed a stronger antibiotic. Knowing that this situation may cause drug-resistance, it is therefore truly important to emphasize your patients that any medication-related concern should be reported. #3. They drink alcohol, smoke, or do illegal drugs. Having habits like these may not be on the patient’s list of honorable activities. Thus, it may come as no surprise to not hear any of them when a patient comes in for a visit. But, these habits are worth taking note of as these are important in considering a patient’s diagnosis and treatment. It is your responsibility to ask them while assuring privacy and confidentiality of information. #4. They have a small problem but they think it is irrelevant. From difficulty of swallowing to having blood in the stool, such “small” problems are actually not “small” nor “irrelevant”. Some may think these would just go away on its own or are just ashamed to talk about it but reporting such symptoms is as important as complaining about their headache. Explain that any abnormality however big or small should be reported as it may aid in early detection of diseases if there are any. #5. Their surgery or disease a long time ago doesn’t matter anymore. Knowing that it has already been ages, some patients may think their past surgeries or history of asthma, for example, is no longer important. While some conditions may have already been resolved, it is still necessary that healthcare providers know them as medical histories also aid in accurate diagnosis and treatment. Source
