Australian Doctor Australian Doctor 15th September 2017 | Page 36

Guest Views

OPINION

Mistakes, excuses and lies

DR PAM RACHOOTIN
General practice provides a kaleidoscope of opportunities for making mistakes.

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COLLEAGUE recently told me of her embarrassing mishap after she recalled a patient who had refused to have life-saving treatment.
The doctor found herself getting emotional as she tried to convey the urgency of the situation, but the patient was afraid and wouldn’ t budge.

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Little Red FAVOURITE

of THE IRON DEFICIENT WOMAN #

After 40 minutes of exhausting effort, my friend finally coaxed the patient into accepting the need for specialist intervention.
Now all she had to do was rebook an urgent appointment with the busy surgeon.
She called his office and launched into a rapid-fire verbal assault, giving ample details to convince the receptionist
of the need to squeeze her patient into a fully booked schedule.
The frazzled doctor finally stopped her ranting to catch her breath. It was the first opportunity for the listener to respond with a reality check:“ You’ ve called a pizza parlour.”
The doctor slammed down the phone, and sheepishly
informed her patient that she had phoned the wrong number.
As the doctor tried phoning the correct establishment, the patient, still in shock, mumbled,“ You called a pizzeria?”
When it comes to patients, many of them are experts in procrastination, especially when it involves having a
Pap smear. The best excuse I ever heard for failing to book an appointment was from a woman who postponed her visit to me because her husband required a lung transplant interstate.
It was dicey whether or not her husband would survive. He waited four weeks for a donor, then shared the donated lungs with another critically ill patient.
And, once a patient has finally presented for a smear, there may still be obstacles to proceeding.
One time, when I discovered my surgery lamp wasn’ t working and was off to get a torch to hold between my teeth, my patient suggested that I should have a head lamp like a miner.
She said her friend had been raving about using one during a recent camping trip. Then I remembered that I had one. So that’ s what I used.
She was so impressed by my gear that she insisted on taking a photo from the supine position to show her friend,
THE PATIENT, STILL IN SHOCK, MUMBLED,‘ YOU CALLED A PIZZERIA?’

FERRO-GRAD C

ORAL FIRST-LINE TREATMENT FOR IRON DEFICIENCY 1
Ferro-Grad C is Australia’ s No. 1 GP-recommended iron supplement 2 – the only one with added Vitamin C to aid absorption. * 1, 3
Recommend daily for 3-6 months. 1, 4
#
Based on IMS Sales Data, February 2017. Market research, October 2014, GP diagnosed iron deficient consumers. * Of the commercially available forms of iron therapy suitable for the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia. Ferro-Grad C contains dried ferrous sulphate 325 mg( equivalent to 105 mg elemental iron) and sodium ascorbate 562.4 mg( equivalent to 500 mg Vitamin C). For the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency.
References: 1. Iron Deficiency [ revised March 2016 ]. In: eTG complete [ Internet ]. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited; March 2017. Accessed April 2017. 2. National Prescribing Service( NPS). Case study 66 report: Iron-deficiency anaemia. January 2011. 3. Brise H & Hallberg L. Acta Med Scand 1962; 171( Suppl 376): 51 – 8. 4. Pasricha SS et al. Med J Aust 2010; 193:525 – 32.
Mylan Health Pty Ltd trading as Mylan Health( ABN 29 601 608 771) of Level 1, 30 The Bond, 30-34 Hickson Road, Millers Point, NSW 2000, Australia. Ph: 1800 314 527. Ferro-Grad C is a registered trademark. FGC-2017-0010. April 2017 ABB3325 _ A4. thereby proving another use of the miner’ s light: mining for cervical cells.
If trying to convince patients to get necessary tests or treatment isn’ t challenging enough, dealing with patient demands can be even harder.
A woman presented for a diving medical.“ Just write I’ m fit,” she instructed me.“ Like they did last time.” I checked her diving record book. Her last medical was 30 years earlier.
Another patient wanted me to lie for him.
He told me,“ C’ mon, I know you’ ve lied before. You’ re a married woman! You must have lied to your husband.”
What do patients really think of us GPs? I dread to think, especially after a patient’ s comment about two plants I was nursing on the window sill.
They were papaya seedlings, grown from pips and rescued from the cold of winter.
But my patient said:“ Didn’ t think you’ d be growing marijuana, Doc.” ●
Dr Rachootin is a GP in Adelaide, SA.
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