Monday, March 21, 2016

"Patient Listener" - New Medical Career Option?

How about outsourcing "Medical Patient Listening"?

The "Patient Listener" could listen at length to a patient, take medical history, ask probing questions, etc. - working with the patient to develop a summarized version, symptom/event timeline, etc. of the patient's story - for the doctor to better diagnose, and treatSummary would include more than just medical history and symptoms - like "what else is going on" in their lives, personality profiles, etc. - to help the doctor hone in on the exact diagnosis and treatment plan.



Why not?  Could this be a new career option in Complementary Medicine 

New value-added feature for Patient Advocates?

This concept might help bridge the gap between the unheard patient and the busy practitioner.

Qualifications might include:
  • Good listener
  • Caring
  • Have time (retired health care professionals?)
  • Able to interpret body language
  • Ability to guide conversations to achieve results
  • Know what questions to ask to get at the root problem
  • Be open to symptoms being partially physical and partly psychological. 
Maybe this "Story Listener" wouldn't have to be a doctor, nurse, etc. - Maybe the Listener could be a caring LPN, Community Health Worker, etc.

Maybe this concept could reduce overall health care costs.  Sometimes just listening heals in itself.  Maybe the M.D. would be more efficient.  Sometimes when the patient realizes what the problem is, they can fix it themselves, e.g. manage stress, self-help, etc.
In addition to interviewing the patient, the listener could interview family/friends to better understand "what is really going on".

This approach might be particularly helpful for chronic health conditions....for those who are "sick and tired of being sick and tired".


It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has. William Osler
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html
It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html
"It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has." - William Osler
It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html
It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has. William Osler
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html
It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has. William Osler
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamosl391388.html

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Some ideas to think about....

Narrative medicine 

Medical Listener patent

Are You “Sick and Tired” of Being “Sick and Tired”? - Health ...

The Medical Inquiry: Invite, Listen, Summarize

Doctor as story-listener and storyteller

Patient Stories May Improve Health

Help the patient tell his story by Murray Wexler; Leta McKinney Adler

Getting diagnostic help through sharing the patient's story

Healing, the Patient Narrative-Story and the Medical ...

Every Patient Tells A Story by Lisa Sanders ...

Why patient stories actually matter

We listen but do we hear? The importance of patient stories

The patient's story: integrating the patient-and physician-centered approaches to interviewing

Why did I miss the diagnosis? some cognitive explanations and educational implications.

Physician Cognition | The Patient's Story - the Whole Story ...

A Medical Detective Story: Why Doctors Make Diagnostic ...

Patients' Diagnostic Accuracy is Better than Physicians!

Getting diagnostic help through sharing the patient's story

Narrative medicine: a model for empathy, reflection, profession, and trust

Diagnosis Goes Low Tech - NYTimes.com

Narrative Medicine: Honoring the Stories of Illness

Diagnose This, by Heidi Julavits | Harper's Magazine

Narrative and Medicine

Practical strategies for practising narrative-based medicine

Broken doctor–patient relationships: why won't they listen ...

Who is more helpful, a doctor who does not listen to you or ...

It's A Long Story, Doctor! - Google Books Result

Listening and Focusing

As hospitals go digital, human stories get left behind

Why patient stories actually matter | Heart Sisters

The Importance of Telling (and Listening) to the Story

Invite, listen, and summarize: a patient-centered communication technique

Narrative Medicine - Patients Telling Their Stories - Oprah.com

Galen and the rhetoric of healing by Susan P Mattern 

Saunders Essentials of Medical Assisting

Preparing medical students to become attentive listeners.

What I learned from listening to a patient

Patient Listening | University of Iowa Press

The importance of physician listening from the patients ...

ERIC - If You Listen, the Patient Will Tell You the Diagnosis ...

Always Listen to the Patient - They're Trying to Tell You the ...


History Taking. Information about History Taking | Patient

Doctor as story-listener and storyteller


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Disclaimer - Article is for information only and not medical/legal advice.


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