Did you feel your therapist or doctor fully understood your problem and concerns on your first consultation? Or made enough time to hear you out? 

This is a very interesting study on how clinicians interrupt their patients. 

Work by Beckman and Frankel (1984):
• Clinicians frequently interrupt their patients- mean time 18 seconds (latest24 sec).
• The earlier the interruption the less likely to hear more than one complaint and the more likely to have late arising complaints and to miss important complaints. 
-Only 23% of patients completed their opening statement. In only 1 out of 51 interrupted statements was the patient allowed to complete their opening statement later. 
-94% of all interruptions concluded with the doctor obtaining control. 
-The longer the clinician waited before interruption, the more complaints were elicited. 
-Allowing the patient to complete the opening statement led to a significant reduction in late arising problems.
• In 34 out of 51 visits, the doctor interrupted the patient after the initial concern, apparently assuming that the first complaint was the chief one.

You as a patient have the full right to be fully heard. And only then can a treatment strategy be compiled and reviewed. 

#bloemphysio #beheard #beunderstood #painmanagement #anxiety #depression #interview #fisioterapeut #bloemfontein