Posted by Peggy Sargent on January 29, 1998 at 07:44:48:
1. After reviewing the four prototypes the patient who falls
into the paternalism type is usually the 85+ patient who
is slighty confused that the health care provider had to
take over control to insure that the pateint recieves
appropriate care. The patient who fits the consumerism
type is the patient in my experience that has alot of power
or influence and the provider(M.D.) allows the patient
to control what is done and by whom.The mutuality type
is the patient who wants to understand their problem and
wants to get better they have trust and respect for their
provider and work with the provider to have a positive outcome.
The default type occurs when the outcome is not what the
patient/family expected and the provider cannot reach
them.The provider seems to lose credibility iin this type
2.I think the best sources of information for the
consumer are educational videos on specific disease processes.
Also, the internet now has a wealth of knowledge at ones
fingertips. We jus tneed to cautious with all information
that it is not one sided, especially when the information
is talking about treatments and drug protocols. These
articles can be slanted by the manufacturer.
3.I have had several "good" patients. These are the patients
who want to get better and want to learn how to take care
of themselves. They take responsibility for their illness
and want to be in control. These patients have usually
came close to the end or potentially the end with an MI
and don't want that to happen again. The "bad" patient
is the patient/family who expects to just lie there and
get better. They think that they shouldn't have to parti-
cipate in their care and expect the staff to jump when th
ey say jump. There are several reasons why they behave this why
alot of the time it is out of guilt because they have talk
their loved one into having the procedure done. Also, the
patients still believe that is the way still provide health
care today. They still think we are in the 1940's of health care
We have not dine a good job in educating the public in
their role and responsibility for their health status.