Your Rights as a Pain Patient
Every pain patient is entitled to be attended by caring and listening professionals. A study performed in England and published in the British Medical Journal compared two groups of physicians utilizing a similar therapy for a similar illness.
Sympathetic, caring physicians carefully listened to patients and then treated the first group. “Detached” physicians, who merely administered the treatment, treated a control group. The result was not surprising: The first group responded substantially better than the control group, indicating that patients respond best when given the full attention and care of the medical attendant.
Take Tramadol and forget pain. Discounts at the popular online pharmacies!
There are a number of requisites in the interaction between patient and therapist that facilitate a positive treatment outcome. “Positive” here means that the effect readily demonstrates improved pain control and/or relief and a sense of achievement. These requisites include the following:
- 1. Patients are entitled to an explanation about their condition and treatment. This type of communication should continue throughout every interaction between patient and therapist or doctor.
- 2. The patient should frequently be reassured, because satisfaction and contentment with a therapy is the key factor in promoting a positive outcome.
- 3. Throughout treatment, therapists and doctors should constantly communicate and demonstrate the progress and improvement achieved by the patient, because “seeing is believing.” When a patient has proof that something has happened (e.g., his or her movements are more flexible), realization dawns that there actually has been some improvement. Often, patients do not believe that any improvement has taken place until some aspect of progress is demonstrated to them. For instance, a knee that was stiff can now move into flexion, or a hand with previously inflexible fingers is now able to close and make a fist.
- 4. Every patient who succeeds should be praised for his or her achievement. Successfully getting better is the achievement of the patient, not of the therapist. The therapist can offer treatment, but the patient has to go through the motions, repeat the exercises, and make all the necessary effort for progress to be attained.
