The elderly patient with multiple complaints.
"Thick chart" patients often have both a stated and an unstated agenda. Failure to recognize the latter can create a crisis of confidence that may prompt the patient to search for a more empathetic physician. So in addition to making a diagnosis in the face of confusing data, the physician must establish confidence by listening carefully and involving the patient in treatment decisions.
Family Medicine Residency Program, University of California, San Diego, USA.
M E
ME
McCahill
S A
SA
Brunton
D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D003933:Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations