‘An Arm And A Leg’: Real Lessons Doctors Can Learn From Fake Patients

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen.

[khn_slabs slabs=”951773″]

Sometimes doctors get the “medical stuff” right while patients still get the wrong care.

That’s one finding from a study that sent fake patients — actors wired with recording devices — into real doctors’ offices.

When the “patients” walked into the doctor’s office to tell their story, physicians were often laser-focused on biomedical issues. But the physicians often missed the psychosocial problems that can be a barrier to good health.

Does the underweight, middle-aged man really need to undergo a battery of expensive tests and get screened for cancer? Instead, maybe he’s experiencing food insecurity and needs a referral to the local Meals on Wheels program.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago recorded hundreds of interactions between these actor-patients and doctors and then analyzed those conversations. They documented medical errors that can result in unnecessary, unhelpful care — and add hundreds of dollars to the cost of a doctor’s visit.

On Episode 7 of “An Arm and a Leg,” meet a doctor who had his listening skills tested and the actor-patient who put the doctor through his paces.

Season 2 is a co-production of Kaiser Health News and Public Road Productions.

To keep in touch with “An Arm and a Leg,” subscribe to the newsletter. You can also follow the show on Facebook and Twitter. And if you’ve got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers would love to hear from you.

To hear all Kaiser Health News podcasts, click here.

And subscribe to “An Arm and a Leg” on iTunesPocket CastsGoogle Play or Spotify.

Read the full post on Syndicate – Kaiser Health News