posted
on Thursday, December 10, 2015
Full disclosure - this week’s post is personal. It’s about my mom. A 65-year old who has been having trouble with her mobility and balance. Her primary physician referred her to a neurologist. She went to the appointment by herself. Mistake One. (Side note: I did not know the date of this appointment, or I assure you this wouldn’t have happened.) I don’t think she expected to hear the word Parkinsonisms. Not Parkinson’s, Parkinsonisms. So of course I ask her what this is. This is where our conversation gets fuzzy. She wasn’t given any literature on it. Mistake Two. So I had to go to the Internet. Mistake Three. But what else was I to do?
So I search – and I get at least 10 sources on page one of my Google search. So I decide to view the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. They define Parkinsonisms as the whole category of neurological diseases that causes slowness of movement. The category includes the classic form of Parkinson’s disease, many atypical variants, sometimes called “Parkinson’s Plus Syndromes,” and any other brain disease that resembles Parkinson’s, such as hydrocephalus or drug-induced parkinsonism.
Wow that was a lot to digest.
I continue to ask my mom questions. But she admits that she sort of ‘shut down’ after hearing the diagnosis. We know through the research out there that this happens. When someone is given a scary diagnosis, they often don’t remember what their provider tells them.
All I could really gather from my mom were bits and pieces of information. She has to start physical therapy, go back for a check-up in 6 months and schedule another appointment with her primary physician to review the list of her current medications. Apparently, one of her longer-term medications may have caused these early symptoms.
Now because I work in healthcare communications and have done research on the importance of patient education, I am horrified to say the least that no information was given to her.
According to DoctorsDigest.net, successful patient communication—especially when it comes to communicating about diagnoses and treatment—means patients do a better job of adhering to their doctors’ orders and achieve the best possible health outcomes.
Why didn’t the practice (a specialty practice) have no patient education literature to share?
Take a look around your practice. What do your patients receive when they are given a diagnosis? Do you have literature on treatments, education, next steps? If not, why not?