Reshaping Bedside Manner in a Diverse World

[MountainLaurel]

Interesting article on a topic that will reshape the way U.S. physicians practice medicine.

The no-shows were wreaking havoc with the appointment schedule at Bailey's Health Center in Falls Church. Week after week, follow-up visits were missed when patient after patient failed to come, call or cancel.

Most were immigrants from Central America, and frustrated staff members started asking questions -- and discovered yet another disconnect between American medicine and foreign culture.

The patients had known all along that they couldn't come back on the dates given to them, it turned out. But to refuse an appointment, to somehow say "no" to medical authority, would have been extremely impolite, if not unthinkable.

The scheduling snafus at Bailey's, a storefront facility off busy Route 50, dramatize the challenges that a diverse population poses to doctors' offices, clinics and hospitals. Bridging that cultural gulf has become a top priority of the medical universe because much of the health care system remains ill-prepared. The result can be inadequate care and, in extreme cases, can risk lives.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/25/AR2006022501739.html

[RedOnce]

1. It looks like we need to be aware of these cultural differences!