The following are some common missteps during a consultation:
Ignoring the patient's complaint: The consultation should always focus on the patient's complaint, i.e., their description of symptoms and discomfort. Ignoring or minimizing the patient's complaints can lead to missing important information and incorrect diagnoses.
Lack of patience and listening: Doctors should show patience and listen during the consultation. Interrupting the patient's story, interrupting, or being impatient affects the patient's sense of trust and can lead to a missed or misdiagnosis.
Inappropriate questioning: Doctors should avoid vague, misleading or oppressive questioning. Questions should be clear and direct in order to get accurate answers and information.
Over-reliance on medical equipment: While medical equipment can provide useful supporting information, doctors should not rely solely on the equipment to make a diagnosis. A careful physical examination and thorough questioning remain key to confirming a diagnosis.
Lack of synthesis: During the consultation, doctors should synthesize the information provided by the patient with other data from the medical history, physical examination, and laboratory results. Making a diagnosis based on individual information alone is unreliable.
No Explanation to the Patient: Doctors should explain the condition, diagnosis, and treatment plan to the patient as much as possible. Lack of explanation can confuse, frighten, or upset the patient, and may also affect the patient's compliance with treatment.
Inadequate documentation: Doctors should take good notes during consultations, including a detailed history, description of symptoms, and physical examination findings. Inadequate record keeping may lead to missing or wrong information, which may cause problems in subsequent treatment and diagnosis.
These are some of the common missteps that can occur during the questioning process. Doctors should remain professional, patient and attentive when conducting consultations, focusing on comprehensive information gathering and integrated analysis to provide accurate diagnosis and treatment recommendations.