Jonathan Strober, MD, a pediatric neuromuscular specialist based in San Francisco, explains that patients should feel heard in their treatment, and care team support can strengthen communication and trust.
Transcript
I think that it’s really important for patients to feel like they have a say in what’s going on in their treatment. If they feel like they’re not being heard by their physicians, there may be other members of the team they could talk to.
So, for instance, we have a social worker and a nurse case manager. Usually, companies also have access managers that work with patients.
Sometimes the physicians have a relationship with those managers as well, and that might be a good way for a patient to get their concerns raised with the physician if they don’t feel comfortable doing it themselves.
Sometimes coming to an appointment with a caretaker who can also help hear what’s going on can make a difference. It might not necessarily be that the physician is not hearing the patient, but rather that there’s a communication issue between the patient and the provider.
If there’s somebody else around who can help figure out what’s going on, it might lead to a better therapeutic alliance.
