"I fired my last doctor for not taking me seriously": collaborating with a difficult medical patient in a multidisciplinary primary care facility.
We present the case of a multidisciplinary primary care assessment of a 32-year-old woman with multiple medical and psychological complaints. Following the collaborative care model, this assessment was conducted by a team consisting of a clinical health psychologist, Dr. J. L. Skillings, and a family physician, Dr. W. J. Murdoch. We describe the primary care environment in which this referral was made including the methods that were utilized to insure a successful professional collaboration. We report the results and recommendations from a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment; we place emphasis on the psychological diagnosis and pain symptoms. We also describe the feedback session in which the assessment results were provided to the patient and her spouse by both physician and psychologist. Multiperspective commentary about the assessment is offered by the patient and her husband as well as the physician and psychologist assessors.
Skillings
Jared Lyon
JL
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Jared.Skillings@PineRest.org
Murdoch
William J
WJ
Porcerelli
John H
JH
D000328:Adult; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations