Managing patients with inexplicable health problems

People need to rationalise their health problems, and those with medical mysteries will find some explanation. The best way to manage such patients is unclear, but the principles described in this article should help improve the satisfaction of both patients and doctors

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBMJ Vol. 326; no. 7389; pp. 595 - 597
Main Authors Fischhoff, Baruch, Wessely, Simon
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London British Medical Journal Publishing Group 15.03.2003
British Medical Association
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
BMJ Publishing Group
BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
EditionInternational edition
Subjects
Attitude to Health
Biological and medical sciences
Chemical hazards
Chronic diseases
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Cognitive models
Communication
Diseases
Education And Debate
General populations
Humans
Internships
Medical conditions
Medical diagnosis
Medical sciences
Patient Satisfaction
Patients
Physician-Patient Relations
Prevention and actions
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Somatoform Disorders - therapy
Symptoms
Terrorism
Belief
Human
Physician patient relation
Information communication
Managed care
Public health organization
Risk factor
Decision aid
Behavior
Diagnosis
Psychological effect
Public health
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Summary:People need to rationalise their health problems, and those with medical mysteries will find some explanation. The best way to manage such patients is unclear, but the principles described in this article should help improve the satisfaction of both patients and doctors
Bibliography:Correspondence to: S Wessely
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Correspondence to: S Wessely s.wessely@iop.kcl.ac.uk
ISSN:0959-8138
0959-8146
1468-5833
1756-1833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.326.7389.595