If not the doctor, then the medical assistant should explain to the patient leaving the hospital what is contained on his or her information sheet and what medicines to take. Otherwise, there are misunderstandings, wrong dosage and the healthcare provider may be liable for a medical error.
Lack of time on the part of the doctor
Indeed, a question arises as to whether the doctor is obliged to explain to the patient what is contained on the hospital information sheet or whether the latter should deal with it himself? Medics often explain that there is no time to discuss what is written in the information sheet, as this takes 10-15 minutes.
- Understanding the doctor's recommendations is key to the success of the diagnostic process. Therefore, the patient must understand these recommendations. It would be good if hospitals or clinics employed medical assistants to take over these tasks - says Dr Michal Florczak, MD, specialist in internal medicine, emergency medicine and medical director of Tomorrow Medical. He also works in the ED at Wolski Hospital in Warsaw.
He gives the example of an 80-year-old man who was managed by four different specialists and who did not understand the information sheet he received on discharge from hospital.
- He was given gastric shielding medication. The cardiologist recommended the same medicine as the gastrologist, only with a different brand name. The man took it in excess. His creatinine levels increased. Consequently, he ended up in a nephrologist with kidney failure. And all because there was a lack of proper understanding of the recommendations," adds Dr Florczak.
At the same time, he stresses that even if assistants were to take over from doctors in interpreting recommendations, they would have to be properly trained.
The card is a knowledge base for the patient
The hospital information sheet is a basic source of information for the patient. It is most often used to inform patients about the course of their treatment and the recommendations they receive when they leave hospital.
- Unfortunately, hospital discharge can also be a source of misunderstandings and even serious post-hospital complications. I have experienced situations in my practice where, for example, the discharge form included a recommendation to take a specific antibiotic. However, the patient received two different prescriptions at the same time, for different antibiotics. One was unfortunately not in line with the recommendations on the information sheet, which the patient could not have known. The post-hospital treatment turned out to be incorrect, and an infection developed, points out Jolanta Budzowska, legal adviser and specialist in medical malpractice litigation.
He points out that, because of such complications, patients or their families later seek compensation in civil courts for medical errors.
- Another example from my practice is when a child with suspected perinatal hypoxia was not referred to a paediatric neurologist or recommended for follow-up at a neurological clinic. The diagnosis of mild MPD was delayed and rehabilitation was implemented later than the neurologist would have recommended, adds attorney Budzowska.
Violation of the right to health page information
Also, the Patient Ombudsman (PPC) is sensitising doctors that they need to explain the records in the chart to patients.
- At each stage of hospitalisation, the doctor is obliged to provide the patient with information on the state of health, the diagnosis, the proposed and possible diagnostic and therapeutic methods, the foreseeable consequences of their application or abandonment, the results of the treatment and the prognosis. At the same time, the patient should be informed in an understandable way about the aforementioned recommendations - indicates Kinga Łuszczyńska, Press Office of the MPC.
It emphasises that the failure to provide the patient or the patient's legal representative (e.g. parents when the patient is a minor) with the relevant information constitutes a violation of the patient's right to information about his or her health, as referred to in Article 9(2) of the Act on Patients' Rights and MPCs.
Of course, it is worth remembering that the doctor's failure to explain what is contained in the information sheet does not relieve the patient of the obligation to read it and to ask the doctor, if possible, when doubts arise. It is best to read the card while still in hospital or just after leaving hospital.
The entire article can be found at the link:
https://www.politykazdrowotna.com/80018,lekarz-ma-obowiazek-instruowac-chorych