Transcend dread: 8 ways to transform your care of ‘difficult’ patients

John Battaglia, MD

Medical director, Program of assertive community treatment, Clinical associate professor, Department of psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Although “the difficult patient” is not a diagnosis or specific clinical entity, clinicians universally struggle with such patients and have an immediate sense of shared experience when describing the phenomenon. In primary care, O’Dowd aptly described this type of patient as the “heartsink” patient, meaning the practitioner often feels exasperation, defeat, or dislike when he or she sees the patient’s name on the schedule.

This article discusses the literature on this topic and provides strategies for dealing with difficult patients in psychiatric practice.

Read full text (free access)

Listen to Dr. Battaglia explain the advantages of "plussing" your difficult patient

Comment on this article

Email the editor