Cart before the horse
There is a proper order for diagnosis and treatment discussion. Violate it at your peril.
One thing I am very clear on in my case acceptance course is that you must complete all diagnostic tests and make a firm diagnosis PRIOR to discussing treatment options with the patient.
Recently, I heard about a case where a medical specialist did things out of order. The result was a perfect demonstration of why I have that rule.
Someone I know went to see a medical specialist.
Based on a physical examination and the symptoms the specialist made a diagnosis and recommended some treatment.
But, prior to commencing treatment, the specialist said that they needed to do a few more tests. When the results of the tests came back the specialist had to revise their diagnosis:
“Oops. It’s not what I thought it was.”
How embarrassing!
This embarrassment could have been easily avoided by completing all the diagnostic tests prior to discussing the diagnosis and treatment options.
This is a mistake I’ve often seen dentists make.
They jump to a diagnosis and the later, have to walk it back because the tests did not turn out like they expected.
If a patient wants to know about their diagnosis prior to you completing all your diagnostic tests the correct answer is:
“I’m not sure yet. I’m still working it out.”
Don’t be drawn into discussing what a problem might be until you have completed all your diagnostic tests a firm diagnosis of what the problem actually is.
If you liked this artice here are some more topics you might enjoy: the full communication framework this sequence sits within, how to keep the treatment discussion short once you start it.
A practice that communicates well and runs efficiently is almost unstoppable. If either of those resonates, explore case acceptance or efficiency — or both.
