Deflators & Amotivators :There are many sources of false, or at least distorted, data to which the patient has exposure. While it would seem improbable that a patient would trust and act upon someone in a waiting room, a TV commercial, a relative without health care training and/or someone who has an agenda of their …
The Dilemma: “When a patient reports difficulty returning to work, malingering need not be the first concern. A more central issue is to determine what the patient knows about his physical problem, why the pain is enduring, and how he assesses treatment to date. A dilemma example: Take the example of a 42 year old male …
Case Management Solution?” “Among the many concerns that confront a nurse case manager is finding health care assistance for a patient who: a. may be simply drug seeking b. is not truly interested in recovery or c. sees the injury as an opportunity to end working for a specific employer This is especially problematic if …
Those of us who deal with patients in pain regularly see the broad range of behaviors that accompany the patient’s pain complaints. These vary from an almost catastrophic presentation where the patient appears in almost continual spasm, cannot arise and openly wails in the expression of his/her agony. We also see those who put forth …
“Early Life Adversity” There is no doubt that too often psychological evaluations are incomplete, inaccurate and disappointing. The focus is almost always upon the individual following an injury with little reference to early life. There is also the erroneous belief that if there has been past early life trauma that all current problems are …
A surgeon seeing a patient wanted a psychological evaluation. The patient is not depressed. He simply has a back injury and …
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The DSM-5, the new diagnostic manual, does little to ease the learning curve regarding mental disorders. The chief objections …
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Domestic Injuries: Several years ago, I had a patient who had fallen greater than 20 feet from a roof he was repairing. …
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