Why is your patient lying to you?

 

Did you know about 80% of patients lie to their doctors. I wonder how many of you have realized that and how many of you knowing the fact that your patient is lying to you and still go ahead with the treatment.

Here is something interesting:

• 46% lied about smoking.
• 43% lied about exercise.
  
• 38% lied about drinking.
  
• 29% lied about their sexual partners.
  

 Here are a few reasons why and here is what you can do about it 
1: They are embarrassed:
This might be because they are ashamed of their habits, knowing the fact that an unhealthy diet or a sedentary lifestyle is harmful they still go ahead with it and end up lying to their health care providers.
What can you do about this?
Do not judge,let them trust you and they might come back to you maybe telling half the truth.

2: They are unable to understand your instructions:
This happens even to the geniuses , why is that ?
You ask your patients to take a medication in a certain way or follow a routine when they are under your medication. Do you follow up after the instructions whether they understood or not, if not then it’s on your head why your patient lied to you.
Make sure before your patient  leaves your office they have understood all your instructions.

3:They're worried about being pigeonholed as someone who doesn't make good decisions :
Every patient wants their doctors to think highly of them, when they end up with an ailment or a problem; the patients tend to believe that they have lost the respect of their healthcare provider. Make sure your patient knows, whatever be the situation you are always there with them.

4:Doctors overlook patients overall experience:
It is your duty as a doctor to make sure your patient feels confident in revealing all their confidential information without feeling embarrassed or worse that you are not worth trusting.

What is your lesson here?

1. Don’t start shouting at  patients who admit to an unhealthy habit. One man said he lied about his smoking habit  to avoid a lecture from his doctor and this is the tip of the iceberg.
   
2. Realize people may not be truthful if a family member is in the room. One young woman said she lied about her sexual activity because she didn’t want her sister to know what she was doing.
   
3. A 10 second pause can sometimes pull out the truth. All it takes is not responding when they lie to you and the silence makes people respond with the truth.
   
4. Don’t be judgmental. Try not to look judgmental because you want them to feel welcome to correct themselves and not hide further,Usually when they see that you are on their side and not their enemy they will open up and  tell you things they have shared with no one else.
   
5.  Don’t get confrontational if you think your  patient is lying.Try not to get in arguments and usually will hear patients out but these relationships usually become toxic and patients will often seek out another physician,Let patients know that you have their best interests at heart. You should make them understand that as a doctor you have no other motives than to help them.
   
6. Make patients aware of the consequences of lying. For example, if they lie about medications they take, they might be prescribed something that interacts and can have serious health effects. Some people will say they have problems or symptoms to get a treatment, but the treatment can cause serious problems as well, and they are putting themselves at unnecessary risk.
   
7. Recognize that some lies can be dangerous. The most prominent example is patients taking dangerous medications in a way that the doctor did not prescribe and then lying to the doctor about it.
   
   To get more thoughts and ideas on patient management download Indian Dental Network and Indian Doctors Network.