Current Events > Why do doctors seem to default to thinking their patients are malingering?

(+) Yeah! (+)

What is the benefit of this approach?

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Work excuse

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Too many people have died from this.

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As someone who works in healthcare and whose girlfriend works in healthcare -- most people in healthcare are dicks. It's like 90/10

Its also appalling how few licensed and practicing Drs. seem to bother to learn anything/keep up on research after med school.

Women are dying from heart disease in droves and half of physicians polled dont know that there is a difference in heart attack symptoms between men and women

https://www.google.com/amp/s/psmag.com/.amp/social-justice/is-medicines-gender-bias-killing-young-women, the list goes on.

and theres a criminal lack of research and real knowledge of womens health issues generally

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Doctors got too much other legal and insurance bill shit to learn to stay up-to-date. There's no reason to be a doctor these days

This is why I like seeing nurse practitioners

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I suppose it varies.

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Unsugarized_Foo posted...

Doctors got too much other legal and insurance bill shit to learn to stay up-to-date. There's no reason to be a doctor these days

This is why I like seeing nurse practitioners

lol, I dont mean to be a hater but any average doctor will be in another league of knowledge compared to the best NP. I've seen wayyyy too many medical errors by NPs and patients have no idea. I mean do you actually know how much training goes into being an NP? Like I want you to look it up and post it

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Thats a very generalized statement. I dont think doctors default to thinking about malingering. Theres an entire criteria that doctors have to go through to even put malingering in their patients record. If theyre worried about their patient abusing something, there is usually a good reason for that.

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Cops coming in all the time with Ziploc baggies full of Norco asking if this is an appropriate amount for someone to have in the glove compartment of their car.

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ImAMarvel posted...

Get out of my head. >_>

Maybe this wasn't a case so much of "malingering" but I was just thinking about a dental visit I had the other day, where I told my dentist about some occasional feelings of pain I felt in some of my teeth. But apparently they didn't find anything, so I kinda had the feeling that my dentist wasn't taking me seriously and was trying to imply that I was "wrong" somehow for saying that I felt pain in those regions. And it's like, bitch I think I would know what I feel in my own fucking mouth. Even if it was "nothing", I still feel occasional sharp pangs of pain, like an early cavity or something.

I guess just arm yourself with data and stand firm.

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AdrianBeterson posted...

Thats a very generalized statement. I dont think doctors default to thinking about malingering. Theres an entire criteria that doctors have to go through to even put malingering in their patients record. If theyre worried about their patient abusing something, there is usually a good reason for that.

I have had it happen to myself.

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I think it's probably that they're discouraged from entering complex billing codes by the insurance companies (US., anyway); only have 15 minutes to spend with you anyway; and a bit of the 'cop' mentality that encourages adversarial "the citizens want to trick or harm us --- gotta be on my toes" thinking.

I've been hospitalized twice for cysts twice, been on numerous prescriptions for them over several years and have a documented history of complaints. Every time I move and need to see a new doctor, either specialist or a general practitioner, even if I forward my medical records, I am treated with deep suspicion about whether I *really* have them and if maaaybe I don't just need to go poo-poo? It's so fucking insulting. I've stopped pursuing prescriptions or even diagnostic follow-up because they didn't work and the insult isn't worth whatever divulgence they could give me.

I see red whenever I hear doctor/disease/drug commercials that say shit like "If you experience pain, discomfort, swelling or just feel off, talk to your doctor right away, as these could be signs of a serious condition." Can you IMAGINE going to a doctor and saying "I have some swelling; would you check me for [serious condition]?" You'd be laughed out the damn room.

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BlingBling22947 posted...

I have had it happen to myself.

So anecdotal experience = doctors default to malingering?

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VanananaHeyHey posted...

I see red whenever I hear doctor/disease/drug commercials that say shit like "If you experience pain, discomfort, swelling or just feel off, talk to your doctor right away, as these could be signs of a serious condition." Can you IMAGINE going to a doctor and saying "I have some swelling; would you check me for [serious condition]?" You'd be laughed out the damn room.

yea thats not true at all. if you take a new medication and develop pain or swelling, it'll be taken pretty seriously.

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MaddenDude-- posted...

yea thats not true at all. if you take a new medication and develop pain or swelling, it'll be taken pretty seriously.

It's not just about the drugs; it's about all of the things in that list. Doctors and PSAs and medical pamphlets and awareness orgs always make a big splash about seeing a doctor about minor-but-persistent-and-unsettling symptoms. But if you go to a doctor and say "I have the symptoms of colon cancer like bloating, irregular bowel movements, and my appetite's a little weird would you check me out for it?" they would definitely not say "Sure, that's a reasonable, proactive and mature outlook."

You'd be told to take an antacid, eat more vegetables and relax. That killed my friend at 30. Like I wrote above, I have a documented history of hospitalizations for ovarian cysts and every new physician I see consistently second-guesses and doubts me. The suggest sleeping wrong, constipation, stress, bad diet, scar tissue --- anything but the actual medical condition I'm complaining of. And when presented with the medical documentation, they shrug and say "Cysts usually resolve themselves." Despite the fact that cysts that don't, or that reoccur, have been shown to be correlated with developing ovarian cancer. Despite the fact that the issue has been an issue for 17 years.

I'm not "anti medical establishment, maaaaan," but general practitioners are lousy diagnostic techs; they only have 15 minutes to even be in the same room with you; and are disincentivized to take people seriously because of billing codes and WebMD. You can't pretend they'd get all Good Doctor and House on every person who complains of seemingly minor ailments.

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Thinking about the investigative journalism into psychiatry when people that tested with a clear bill of health admitted themselves and all reached the same conclusion that they had to fake acceptance of the diagnosis, and pretend to be getting better or there was no hope of release.

They seem to like to min/max conveniently, but that isn't surprising based on the poor foundations of modern science and understanding the intrinsic basis of humanity . . . but you'll find that no matter where you look.

Every which way and direction.

All too familiar on the macro despite where specifically the lens is placed.

Systemic is systemic and the fault and flaw lies just as much here as anywhere.

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