Friday, March 29, 2024
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14 Strategies to Help Physicians Cope with Patient Disrespect

In the course of their professional duties, physicians can encounter disrespectful patients. When this happens, there are various strategies that the physician can use to cope with such a situation.

  1. The physician can gather information in an attempt to find the source of this problem, which can help to prevent repeat incidences of disrespect in the future.
  2. Communicating with the angry patient to determine the source of their anger.
  3. It is important for the physician to remain cool throughout the encounter and in extreme cases, to terminate the professional relationship.
  4. Shaking off the encounter and not taking it personally.
  5. Setting clear boundaries that should not be crossed by the patient.
  6. Avoiding engaging the patient in back and forth arguments that can escalate the situation.
  7. Being empathetic and attempting to understand what the patient might be going through.
  8. Engaging the patient in reasonable conversations to reduce tension.
  9. Re-engaging the patient after addressing their inappropriate behavior.
  10. Undergoing training on the best tactics to handle such situations.
  11. Ensure that any interaction with the patient is non-confrontational.
  12. Attempt to communicate with manipulative patients.
  13. Set limits on expectations from patients by having clearly written policies and guidelines.
  14. Collaborating with the team to find the best way to resolve such issues.

Resources:

8 Ways to Deal with Difficult Patients – PHYSICIANS PRACTICE

6 Tips for Dealing with Difficult Patients – Jacksonville University

How to Handle Difficult Patients – Ausmed

How to Deal With ‘Problem’ Patients at Your Healthcare Practice – PatientPop

How to Address Inappropriate Patient Behavior – HealthLeaders

Source: AskWonder

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