The Ebola patient and denial -

[JayhawkSD]

7. I did not say that, and you know it.

I said it is not up the the patient to say, "I think I have Ebola."

It is up to the patient to answer questions asked by doctors, but not to provide informatyion that is not asked. He does not know what is relevant. That he was in contact with a sick woman is certainly relevant, but it was the responsibility of the health care worker to ask if such contact had happened. He was asked if he had been in Liberia and he answered, "Yes."

Yes, absolutley, doctoring is done through "hunting, pecking and puzzle work." That is exactly how it is done. By asking questions, examining the patient, finding clues and putting those clues togetrher because the doctor knows what clues to look for and the patient does not.

The doctor does not, in fact, want the patient spouting a long list of information, most of which will be irrelevant. He does not want to know, for instance, that your bowel movement was oddly colored last Tuesday, or that it was "a little bit loose" on Thursday when he is examining you for trouble breathing. He knows what he needs to know and he will ask you for the information he needs.