I think this hits the nail on the head. There is a huge information gradient between most patients and the doctor and perfectly bridging that gap takes more [time|money] than any system is willing to support.
I think about this when it comes to providing a patient with "informed consent" for a particular treatment/operation. What does "informed" really mean in this case? A brief overview of the main risks and a couple of statistics? Or a thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease and the trial data supporting the therapy? How long is a piece of string?
A good percentage still get frustrated. Can’t be helped. Patients reshape their narrative, remember new details, just plain open up more to some docs, etc. the repeated history taking really pays off in improving patient care.
Where I find patients get most frustrated is when docs come in for a specific job, and patients don’t have the health literacy to understand what that is or is not. “Doc, can I go home today?”
“Oh. But when do you think I can go home?”There’s no good response to that. No one wants to cough up cash to pay for health professionals time to repeat themselves all day long. But the patient that’s asking? They want that answer. They don’t -feel- like they’re asking an inappropriate or stupid question.