10-8-15 Treating a patient like a customer: A tale of two surgical procedures

Recently, my husband Rich had a success partial knee replacement surgery (not at Whidbey General Hospital), and I’m getting ready for (I assume) successful cataract surgery. 

In Rich’s case, we were not told before the surgery all that would be involved in the procedure, what the healing process would be like or that he would even need to spend a night in the hospital (which turned out to be awful….but that’s another story).

In my case, I was sent an informative pamphlet that explained everything.  Before even scheduling a surgery date, I spent time learning the details of what was involved, saw an informative video, was warned about the small possibilities that problems might occur, and was a full participant in understanding what to expect.

In Rich’s case, we were totally taken by surprise.  We had been told that a partial knee replacement was so much easier than a full replacement.  It was not described to us as a major surgical procedure that could have significant complications (none of which occurred), or that there would be an extended healing period with a lot of pain and discomfort.  The morning of the surgery, someone told us we’d probably be able to go home by noon.  Without our totally understanding the implications, it was recommended that Rich get a nerve block on his leg rather than traditional anesthesia.  Sometime after the surgery and right after Rich came out of recovery, we were told he’d have to spend the night in the hospital because of the lack of feeling in his leg.

The night in the hospital was a total nightmare: No sleep, pain, nice but indifferent staff, etc.  So, the adventure was one long stretch of misery.

The point of this Blog is the importance of fully informing a patient before any procedure. 

If the patient were a customer buying a product, it would be common practice to be able to review a range of information so the customer would know exactly what he/she was purchasing.

Let’s encourage our doctors and hospitals to do a better job of informing us.

A great comment from my friend, Dr. Craig Weiner, DC, October 8, 2015

"You have made an excellent point. In fact, a patient is also a customer and should be treated to the same expected courtesies that any customer deserves and more. Informed consent is a requirement and should always include 'informing'.....informing a patient of expectations, of procedures, of likely outcomes, of alternative choices. When done well, patient feel well taken care of and their bodies heal faster. Research has supported this over and over again. So remember the Law of Two Feet: If you are not treated as you would treat another, use those 2 feet and walk down the street and find a provider who will treat you the way you deserve."