Provider-patient communication: an illustrative case report of how provider language can influence patient prognosis.
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Case Report
Abstract: Patient-provider communication can lead to unhelpful ideas and beliefs about a patient's condition, negatively impacting their clinical outcome. A 34-year-old male Veteran presented for an evaluation of high impact chronic low back pain. Previous interactions with various healthcare providers resulted in the Veteran viewing his condition as ominous and in need of intervention, however clinical findings did not support these beliefs. Our Veteran underwent six visits in the chiropractic clinic with treatment consisting of pain education, utilization of cognitive behavioral principles, active home care exercises and spinal manipulation, resulting in improvements in functional and objective outcome measures. This case report highlights the impact of misalignment between an early contact healthcare provider and patient misunderstanding of their condition on long term outcomes. It serves as an example of how physicians utilizing pathoanatomic explanations to describe a patient's chronic low back pain diagnosis can alter the patient's beliefs about their condition.
Source: PubMed
Authors: Kelsey Pierce, Alyssa Troutner, Lindsay Rae, Janet Austin
Institutions: VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, Northeastern University
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4282923752