One Dozen Things
The Doctor-Patient Relationship
Discussion Questions
1. What are the most obvious differences between the two patients in these scenarios?
2. How do you think each patient sees his/her relationship with the doctor?
3. Which of these patients is most like the patients you have encountered in your home country?
4. Should the second patient's behavior be seen as a threat or challenge to the physician's authority?
5. What exactly does the second patient want from the physician?
6. How could the physician better express his concern with both patients’ apparent failure to respond to therapy?
7. How could the physician better explore the issue of compliance with each patient?
8. How could the physician better explain the need for adding another drug to the treatment regimen?
9. How could the physician better react to the second patient's request?
10. How should the physician react if the information provided by the patient is clearly wrong or not applicable to her treatment?
11. How should the physician react if the information provided by the patient refers to a drug or treatment regimen with which he is unfamiliar?
12. Should more information or the option to participate more actively in the decision-making process be offered to the first patient? If not, why not? If so, how should that be done?
