Social Sciences 🗑 Flashcards
Most diagnostic errors involve what?
Cognitive bias (not lack of knowledge)
Common cognitive errors:
Availability
Allowing recently seen or memorable Dx to sway current Dx
Common cognitive errors:
Anchoring
Fixating on initial impression of what was thought to be Dx
Common cognitive errors:
Framing
Dx approach is influenced by context. Like opioid withdrawal in IVDU, even if the Dx was bowel Obs
Common cognitive errors:
Confirmation
Emphasising evidence to support thought Dx. Related to anchoring
What is metacognition
Where a doctor understands flaws in their cognitive patterns and bias.
If a patient is knocking at heavens door and needs decisions made. No advance directive. What is your priority
Find surrogate decision maker. And get families perspective in what they think patient would have wanted. Not what you think is best for patient.
If family cannot come to a consensus on what patient would have wanted…. What to do
Ultimately chief decision maker calls the shots, usually the spouse, then the parents.
Disability insurance. What is it
Doctor can signs for a specific period of time, to allow patient money to be off work. Must specify specific for how long he cannot work, severity, limitations, limitations to job specifically, the illness details etc. Must be proper and legit.
If someone has issue and cannot work for disability reasons. If they don’t meet the criteria to have disability insurance,,,, can do what
Doctors can certify patient for limited time off
Patient wanting recommendations on complimentary/alternative medicine
Doctor should consult with or direct patient to reputable third party. For Eg. Supplements for OA. Some brands are pure and others are full of crap. So these independent organisation can help with this. Don’t stick to conventional and be dismissive
Patient is on therapy that the doctor has never heard of before (random herbal ting or hormone). Insists to keep taking it. Some ways the doctor can approach this
Be open and understanding. Acknowledge the patients motivations. Mom judgmental. Schedule regular follow-ups to monitor any adverse effects. Develope open communication. Don’t alternate patients by saying how it’s not evidence based
Who is eligible for hospice care
Palliative patients. Cannot be on curative therapy
Quality improvement mode:
Lean
Identification of waste in a system, and streamlining. For example identify patients have two appointments on two days, and making them on one day, so they can save on transport
Quality improvement:
Model for improvement
Like the PDSA cycle. So piloting a new thing, then reassessing and refining, then test again.
Quality improvement
Six sigma
Identifying issues in a system, then systematically eliminating them with statistical goals . So maybe finding that quite a few patients have wrong site surgery, so putting measures in place to make it <0.00001% likely to happen again
Examples of the Swiss cheese model
Anything that puts extra barriers to prevent the mistake from happening. So double checks, hard stops etc.
SPIKES
Setting
Perception
Invitation
Knowledge
Empathy
Dr has bad news to share with the patient. Patient wants to defer until spouse is with them in a couple of days
As long as no imminent danger, this is ok
Who can get home hospice care
Normal hospice requirement, roughly less than 6mo to live, and has forgone curative Tx. Family available at home. Inpatient if patient and family choose, or if cannot do at homr
Parents refuse life saving Tx for their child
Get court order for the Tx. If emergency, just give Tx
Main ways to prevent readmission, in simple terms
Communication and followup. So the best intervention will always be to arrange telephone chats with the patient or little appointments in the outpatient
Exceptions for informed consent for infant from guardian
Emergency
Emancipated child: parent, military, financially independent, high school graduate, married. Homeless
Certain medical care: STD, substance abuse, contraception and pregnancy care
Puncture wound due to rusty nail. Parents don’t want to give Ig or Vx in unvx’d kid.
Give it anyway. Counts as an emergency. Whereas routine Vx isn’t an emergency