Regardless of your role on the healthcare team, you will likely have to deal with difficult patients. While it’s certainly understandable that patients who are experiencing anxiety and stress, feeling pain, or who have lost their independence will sometimes lose control of their emotions, it doesn’t make it any easier on you. These angry and upset patients can test your communication skills, compassion and patience.
One of my roles as Chief Medical Officer is to review requests to dismiss a patient from our practice due to unacceptable behavior toward our clinic staff. I’d like to provide you a few strategies so your encounters with these patients, if possible, do not escalate into the need to consider this option.
When dealing with trying patients, the best approach is to remain calm. Remember that the patient is not attacking you personally, but rather acting out on feelings of anxiety, a perceived lack of attention or resistance to what has happened to them. Remaining calm will allow you to keep control and address the patient in a way that will defuse the situation.
Try to draw out the patient’s feelings by engaging in conversation. Frequently, they just want to be heard and understood. Use the patient’s name, maintain eye contact and speak softly, even if the patient is yelling. Avoid negative language; instead try statements that begin with “Let me explain,” “May I suggest?” or “Your options are.” Consider asking open ended questions such as: “Can you tell me what you need?” or “Do you have suggestions on how to solve this problem?” Acknowledge the patient’s feelings, and practice active listening: paraphrase back what the patient just told you, and then calmly explain the situation.
One of the quickest ways to calm an angry or difficult patient is by being empathetic. Remind yourself that it is not easy dealing with a chronic illness and/or being unable to function normally. Rather than being defensive, treat all patients with respect. Tell them you understand how upsetting the situation must be. Demonstrate that you care about them, are interested in them and that they are important to you.
Upset patients may try to pull you into an argument. While you are completely entitled to voice your opinion, it is important to do so respectfully. Instead of explaining why they are not getting the attention they want, or why their phone calls were not answered promptly enough, simply apologize and reassure the patient that you will take care of it. When it comes to difficult patients who make seemingly endless or unreasonable demands, a useful approach is to set limits. Let them know when you will call them back, and then follow through.
Within the healthcare profession, difficult patients are unavoidable. If you have a patient that demonstrates inappropriate or threatening behavior, be sure to document the encounter in the medical record and feel free to contact me or your practice manager if you have any questions about the best way to handle the situation. Hopefully, using the strategies reviewed above, you can successfully retain the patient in our practice and demonstrate the UT Healthier way!
