Doctors Typically Not Remembered By Hospital Patients
Posted on: Friday, 30 January 2009, 13:50 CST
A new study found that 75 percent of hospital patients are rarely able to recall the names of doctors providing care for them, said researchers at the University of Chicago.
Of the 25 percent who responded with a name, only 40 percent were correct, researchers said.
Over the course of 15 months, researchers conducted interviews of 2,807 adults admitted to the school’s hospital. Patients were questioned about the names of doctors they interacted with as well as the roles they played in caring for their condition.
Medical teams consisted of three to four people, including medical students, residents and attending physicians, according to the New York Times.
Researchers found that patients who knew the doctors’ roles in their care were more likely to recall the name of at least one of their physicians.
Dr. Vineet Arora, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, told the Times that she was not surprised by the study’s findings due to the fast-paced nature of modern healthcare.
Even family members have trouble identifying the physicians caring for their relative because hospital rounds take place early in the morning, often before they have arrived, Arora said.
“Caregivers aren’t always there, especially late at night and early in the morning,” she said.
Additionally, “physicians in training may contribute to this problem through the failure to introduce themselves and their role to patients,” researchers said.
Dr. Ernest Moy, medical officer at the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, questioned the importance of learning a physician’s name compared with getting proper medical care.
“Do you really need to know who your doctor is, or is it more important to know some processes that will help you get at the information you need?” he told the Times.
“Regardless of the cause, patients who are unable to identify their physicians may be less informed about their hospitalization and not know to whom to direct questions, impairing their ability to make informed decisions both during and after hospitalization,” researchers concluded in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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