Whack-a-mole medicine in an age of patients with alternative facts
Once upon a time, getting caught in a lie, especially a hand-in-the-cookie-jar one, carried consequences. Shame, maybe a grovelling apology. A promise to do better…
Tag: Art of Medicine
I don’t mind patients with lists, but double appointments grind my gears
In my twilight years of general practice, I’ve begun to be amused, rather than dismayed, by the patient who refers to a list of medical…
Why is it so hard to say no when patients demand unnecessary treatments?
We GPs are practical types. Not only do we like to tell people what to do, we also like having the skills to do things…
The idea that diagnostic certainty requires a ‘perfect’ medical history is flawed — let me explain
When I observe young GP registrars with patients, I see the immense weight they carry. I remember that feeling acutely: the pressure to make the…
Minister pledges to lift gag law that stops doctors broaching VAD with patients
Doctors will no longer risk being referred to AHPRA for raising voluntary assisted dying as an option for terminally ill patients under a Victorian Government…
Death by Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V? Copy–pasting of clinical notes ‘an epidemic’
Indiscriminate copy–pasting of clinical notes between records is causing “note bloat” and infecting records with errors, according to two papers in Internal Medicine Journal. A…
Doctors and functional disorders — how I escaped heartsink
There is a term in medicine that has always made me feel uncomfortable. It gets used less now, but you still hear it: heartsink —…
The doctor–patient tango: How I avoid a misstep before the consult turns frosty
Dr John Launer recently shared his favourite question to throw in mid-consultation: “How is this conversation going for you so far?” It helps him figure…
Stressed surgeons linked to fewer complications for patients: study
Surgeons, like elite athletes, may produce better outcomes if they are displaying higher physiological stress in the early stages of surgery, a study shows. US…
It took me years to get off my high horse and properly communicate with patients
When I was a medical student in the 1960s, our lecturers and tutors, all white and male, were a stone-faced mob, devoid of humour and…
