In most cases patients visit the hospital in pain or with illness related complaints. Doctors and other health experts are there to provide support and advice in a good communicable manner.At the hospital or health center, patients are examined; investigations including laboratory findings are carried out in most cases to determine the cause of the illness.Though many patients suspect what the outcome of their diagnostic tests might turn out, the diagnosis confirming these fears comes as a shock. Initial explanations of the disease and treatment may be lost as many patients try to come to grips with the reality of their illness. This initial confusion is common, and repeated explanations of the diagnosis, treatment, and possible outcome of the disease may be necessary because this is a time when many important decisions must be made.Patients should also not hesitate to ask questions about the details of their illness and possible solutions on how to overcome them.Normally clinical centers should provide adequate information in various aspects to provide explanations about the disease and its treatment and also allow patients absorb these details at their own pace.Patient initial reactions to the illnessPatients may experience many feelings upon knowing their illness or its extent. In most cases patients tend to have initial reactions such as denial, anger, guilt, grief, fear and confusion. These reactions are so common in nature and may be a way of helping a person to cope with the necessity of accepting a situation one feels can change but with limited power to do so. However, people should know that this is the time when the patient needs support and he or she is sensitive to the moods and feelings from the surroundings.Expressing these feelings too, strongly, may create problems for the patient. Some people may think that others do not want to acknowledge the disease, and therefore may try to protect themselves by not discussing their own feelings and fears. Such feelings isolates the patient from an important source of information that in the end only increase concerns, because the patient may imagine the situation to be worse than it may be.Although the diagnosis is usually definite once the test results have been examined and confirmed, some patients may ask for a second opinion from a different health expert. Today patients have rights to choose the medical expert they wish to meet. Second opinions are useful for confirming the diagnosis and reassuring patients about its accuracy and for confirming recommended treatment or exploration of another approach to treatment. However, once the diagnosis and treatment have been agreed upon by two health experts, seeking a third opinion may reflect a patient’s instability in his or her illness and this puts an unfair burden on him and delays treatment.Acceptance of the diagnosisWith time patients come to realize the final outcome of their diagnosis. At this point patients begin to cope with the diagnosis and their feelings about it. Sometimes patients frequently blame themselves and their physicians for delays in diagnosis. All patients want to know when the disease began, but sometimes there is no definite answer to this situation. The onset can be rapid or gradual because the early symptoms of the disease are often the same as those for common illnesses or complaints in life. Communication to the patient about the illnessOne of the most difficult decisions facing health experts after diagnosis is how to communicate to their patients on the illness details. In the past, there were strong cultural tendencies to shelter patients from painful realities. But today there is general agreement that the patient should be told as much about the illness.Patients need to know the name of the disease and its implications before they start treatment. It is even difficult to hide information concerning the dangers of the illness because the environment normally informs them.The question here is not whether to talk about the diagnosis, but rather how to let the patient know that concerns are shared and understood and that they are willing to talk about these things with other people especially friends and relatives.The single most important and basic approach is gentle, honest communication. Failure to answer a patient’s question in an honest fashion undermines the patient relationship at a time when the patient desperately needs to communicate with people.Health experts should be the best judge for the patient’s moods.
