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Listen to Your Patients. They’re Telling You the Diagnosis!
Updated on April 4, 2020
Individuals and their caregivers are the greatest untapped sources of information, knowledge, and motivation (A Health Rosetta Story)
Listen to your patient; he is telling you the diagnosis.
This was what the great physician William Osler taught his students in the late 19th century. His words are still true today. In Osler’s time, most of what physicians dealt with were new or acute conditions. Because of that, determining the diagnosis was paramount.
Today, although we* still struggle with diagnosis and management of acute conditions, we also must deal with a plethora of chronic conditions that require longitudinal care. Because of this, more than ever, we must appreciate the key role the patient and their caregiver plays in their healthcare.
We have wonderful medical training. We are also surrounded by amazing technologies and brilliant specialists that we can summon at the click of a mouse. However, doctors and other health professionals must understand that we specialize in and are knowledgeable about medicine. But the patient is a specialist in and has special knowledge about him or herself.
