If a patient tells you they are a lawyer, how does that affect your evaluation process?
Be honest.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Do You Treat Lawyer Patients Differently?
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18 Outbursts:
I tell them literally everything I'm doing and why. Much less small talk.
I should really add that clearly I tell everyone why I'm doing things, but I tend to make it almost painfully explicit then.
I absolutely treat them differently, especially as an ED doc, I am much more open in explaining why I am doing things and what the results are. Las tnight I took care of a med mal defense lawyer and was very upfront
Do you mean specifically med-mal, or any lawyer? I mean, there's no reason to treat a defense attorney differently.
Just because they may not practice med mal doesn't mean they wouldn't sue you. Like previous posters, I would be very upfront about everything I'm doing and chart very well.
My documentation is pristine.
If there is ever a time I practice defensive medicine with passion... voila.
Is there some reason you docs don't consider your "regular" patients worthy of this astute extra attention? Maybe I should lie about my profession next time.
Justapatient
I'd say Treat em just like any other category of disgusting patients, the drug addicts, child molestors, wife beaters, etc but that wouldn't be fair to the child molestors... And your kidding yourself if you think bein honest is gonna keep Shylock from suing your ass...its like on the Battlefield...its the bullet you don't here that gets you....Another hint...before writing any Rx for a controlled drug, pretend they're undercover DEA agents...they ALL get tylenol...
Frank
when they tell me they are lawyers i tell them i will treat them anyway. unless they are personal injury or prosecutors...
I bag them when they stop breathing.
I'd go to the ICU when four of them code in 10 minutes instead of "resuscitating over the phone".
Justapatient,
I would argue that you receive more compassionate care as someone who is not a lawyer. If you were a lawyer, you might be looked at as a ticking time bomb and treated accordingly (not necessarily for the better).
Agreed, Justapatient,
Do you want someone practicing defensive medicine on you—ordering loads of unnecessary, expensive, and possibly painful tests because their fear of your takes priority over their compassion and care for you? Would you want someone worrying more about your chart and less about your diagnosis? I know I wouldn't. Paying more attention to giving explanation in some areas doesn't necessarily result in better care for the patient.
They get every test I can remotely justify.
So do any of you know if all this extra testing you are doing actually works to prevent people from suing you? Are lawyers any more likely to sue you than any other members of the public?
It's amazing that men and women of science, highly educated people, know so little about the reasons for doing the things they do and their efficacy.
". . .or prosecutors"
Yes, we wouldn't want the people responsible for making sure criminals get convicted to be healthy. Good call on your part.
don't worry 11:50, there are plenty of bloodsuckers to replace them
As a Physical therapist I have time to talk to my patients a lot. This is unfortunate in the case of lawyers. Most of the time they don't have to tell me. You know from their dress, manner, and ridiculous demands. When someone says,"I'm a lawyer downtown..." it is usualy to announce for all the world that I am important and should be treated as such. My response is" You and a million others." ... in my head.
Mostly, I worry even more about my documentation. But if I am unsure as to whether the patient needs further testing or not, and the patient is an attorney, they get the tests ordered. When it comes to caring for attorneys, there is no such thing as an unnecessary test!
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