Social Media and Healthcare

What exactly are patients “not faking”? 

Over the past couple of days, the hashtag #PatientsAreNotFaking has been trending on Twitter. “Not faking” belief that our current healthcare system is somehow working well? Nah, no one should really believe that.

No, instead, the hashtag is actually the start of a sentence that was meant to conclude with, “their symptoms and medical problems,” or something similar to this phrase. Yes, many patients around the country have encountered doctors and other healthcare professionals who have either ignored or discounted their symptoms that in many cases turned out to be signs of serious underlying medical conditions.

For example, movie and television star Selma Blair suffered “not being taken seriously by doctors” for years before finally being diagnosed with MS. And Blair is a well-known celebrity. Imagine what those who feel ignored in general and don’t have resources have to suffer.

Such delays in diagnosis can not only prolong suffering and confusion but also put patients at serious risk for missing treatment opportunities.

These were just some of the heart-wrenching stories that emerged from the hashtag. 

Sure, walking into the emergency room with your arm falling off may typically get attention. But studies have shown that many doctors and other healthcare professionals aren’t doing great jobs at listening to people. For example, a study that I covered before for Forbes showed how doctors on average interrupt patients after only 11 seconds. That’s barely enough time to release and recover from an extended fart let alone listen to a patient’s complaints thoughtfully.

Certainly, some doctors and health professionals are naturally too quick to judge patients, relying on stereotypes and pre-conceived notions. 

For example, I once heard a doctor claim that a young Asian American patient was probably tired because he was studying too much, without knowing much about the patient. The doctor was not Asian American and to my knowledge still isn’t. It turned out that the patient had a thyroid condition and really didn’t study very much.

Stereotypes, sexism, racism, ageism, body type-ism, and other -isms can prevent people especially women, racial and ethnic minorities, those of various sexual orientations, and those of certain body types (e.g., those with obesity) from having their concerns being taken seriously.

Certainly, some patients may be exaggerating symptoms or even faking them. Indeed, there are reasons why certain patients may do this such as to get attention or to get healthcare professionals to do something. If you have worked in healthcare long enough, you will encounter such patients.

Nonetheless, as the response to the #PatientsAreNotFaking demonstrated, there are many, many, many, many more patients who do not fake or exaggerate their symptoms but rightfully feel ignored. In fact, you’d expect the vast, vast majority of patients to not be faking or exaggerating anything.

After all, why would they take time out of their busy schedules to see a doctor in a clinic, a hospital, or an emergency room, places that are neither “fun” nor free places to be?

Read More: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2019/11/24/why-patientsarenotfaking-began-and-what-is-says-about-health-care/#454a28773452