Patients should question their doctors

By Dr. John Baleix

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 10, 2012

~~<p>Journal articles don't usually cite "Seinfeld," but a recent study published in the May edition of Health Affairs mentions a memorable episode that shows how distressed the Elaine character gets when she discovers her doctor has labeled her a "difficult" patient. To the study's co-authors, the pop-culture reference represents how concerned many people feel about being labeled difficult.</p>
<p>Elaine is fictional, but the study found that even real-life affluent, well-educated individuals felt uncomfortable questioning their doctor's medical advice because they were afraid of upsetting the physician and being known as problem patients.</p>
~~

Journal articles don't usually cite "Seinfeld," but a recent study published in the May edition of Health Affairs mentions a memorable episode that shows how distressed the Elaine character gets when she discovers her doctor has labeled her a "difficult" patient. To the study's co-authors, the pop-culture reference represents how concerned many people feel about being labeled difficult.

Elaine is fictional, but the study found that even real-life affluent, well-educated individuals felt uncomfortable questioning their doctor's medical advice because they were afraid of upsetting the physician and being known as problem patients. Login for more...