WHILE IT DOESN’T happen often, it does happen: Patients—when they disagree with their pain management, treatment or discharge plan—want to dismiss their current hospitalist and be assigned to a different one.
In the vast majority of such requests, doctors are able to address patients’ concerns and continue to provide their care. But in instances where communication can’t be repaired, some hospitals follow formal policies for how to allow patients to dismiss their current inpatient clinicians while others take a case-by-case approach.
Regardless of whether hospitals have such a formal policy, sources say that an increase in patients who disagree with their doctors and thus request to switch them may be a byproduct of the distrust that’s crept into health care since the pandemic. That leaves groups trying to strike a balance between meeting patients where they are and making sure that clinicians feel safe and valued—and that group leadership has hospitalists’ back.
See more of Today’s Hospitalist coverage of how to handle situations where patients disagree with their doctors.
How hospitals are addressing bad behavior by patients and their families
While the number of patients asking to be assigned to a different physician may be on the rise, so are the number of family members behaving badly. That trend has some hospitals creating policies outlining behavioral expectations.
Hospitalists who use such behavioral plans say they need to outline what constitutes bad behavior and what the fallout for becoming abusive, verbally or otherwise, will be.
See Today’s Hospitalist coverage here.
Strategies to work with patients who are rude to their physicians/hospitalists
When patients sound off about wanting a different doctor, it’s perfectly human to want to push back. But keeping in mind that this may be a patient’s worst day can help physicians realize that patients may just be venting their frustrations and fears.
See Today’s Hospitalist coverage here.
How to talk to patients in the hospital who want a new doctor
Most instances where patients want to switch doctors arise from differences of opinions in pain management, treatment plans or discharges. Here are steps you can take to help smooth out those differences.
See Today’s Hospitalist coverage here.
Is it OK for patients to record conversations with their physicians?
Don’t consent to being recorded by your patients? One doctor finds that it helps to offer patients the chance to call a family member or caregiver on speakerphone so they can get another opinion.
See Today’s Hospitalist coverage here.
“Disagreements between patients and doctors can actually be healthy — as long as they’re handled respectfully. Patients know their bodies, and doctors have medical expertise. When both sides listen with an open mind, it can lead to better, more personalized care. It’s okay to ask questions, seek second opinions, or express concerns — good doctors will welcome it.”