The chart note was brief: "Difficult patient. Frequent visits. Demands unnecessary tests." Before I met the patient, I already knew how the story was supposed to go. Every physician has encountered ...

When Elaine Benes on Seinfeld discovers she was labeled as a “difficult patient” in her medical chart, hilarity ensues when she tries to correct the record—and makes matters worse. But in real life, ...

Some patients continually cancel their appointments, ignore your medical directions, treat your staff rudely, or send you harassing emails. Do you have to tolerate their behavior? No, these are all ...

A systematic review of 45 studies found that physicians perceive one in six patient visits in non-psychiatric clinics as "difficult," and these encounters are more likely to involve patients with ...

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . At least once a week, Emily L. Weis, MD, MS, says she has a challenging consult or patient interaction in her ...

"Patients do not want to be shielded from difficult treatment decisions," says Associate Professor Jannicke Rabben at Norway's University of Agder (UiA). "Even patients who say that the doctor knows ...

His visits to emergency departments always followed the same pattern. He would arrive in the afternoon complaining of chest pain. A bypass scar and a long-standing abnormal ECG pointed toward coronary ...