December 2005

Dealing with patient anxiety

by Laurent Goldstein

As president of Brican Systems Corporation, a company marketing a software‑based patient education program for chiropractors, I'm often thinking about the psychology of patients and what their experiences are in going to a chiropractor's office. This fascinates me as I believe we all live in our own "bubble" and often make assumptions based upon what our particular experiences and backgrounds are.

You "live and breathe" chiropractic every day of your life as a DC. Very likely, you grew up in a family where chiropractic had been around for several generations, so getting regular chiropractic care is only natural and part of your lifestyle. Your children are often raised naturally, without vaccines, drugs and antibiotics and are sometimes born at home. So many times I've witnessed the positive impact of a chiropractic‑oriented lifestyle, having met thousands of healthy, vibrant and beautiful "chiro kids" at various seminars over the years. It's easy to forget how far removed this approach is from the general population's overall approach to heath‑related issues.

While experience and knowledge reduce fear, patients are getting a constant message of fear from both the pharmaceutical and medical professions, with the only solution offered being to follow their guidelines. This is very apparent when it comes to vaccinations but with a lot of other issues as well.

Two months ago, I started experiencing some sciatica pain in my left leg, something I had never experienced before. Since traditional chiropractic care did not seem to get rid of the problem, I decided to get a weight bearing MRI, which revealed a disc herniation at L5 S1. I was getting to the point where I could hardly walk or sit anymore, even for short periods of time. I guess all these years of driving and constantly flying to seminars, combined with the stress of running a business, were starting to catch up with me and my body was telling me to slow down. I was becoming a "patient with a hot low‑back" and I had been given an opportunity to experience chiropractic from a new point of view.

After speaking with several friends in the profession, I decided to go for a treatment approach in a spinal decompression machine. Going through this process, I realized there are three basic questions going through the mind of patients in a situation similar to mine: Will it hurt? Am I going to get better and when? Am I doing the right thing seeing a chiropractor or seeing this chiropractor?

At that stage, my experience of life was totally altered, as all the things I had taken for granted were potentially taken away from me for the time being. It was affecting my ability to work, to be active and do the things I love doing. This is when anxiety started creeping in.

I became obsessed about getting more information about my condition. I started watching videos from 1965 telling me how to take care of my back while shaving in the morning or brushing my teeth! Some people play football, go bungee‑jumping or sky‑diving and I was concerned about how to get out of my car or how to handle my back when I shave! I started questioning my decision to get under treatment with the decompression unit and was looking for reassurance that it was a good decision. I watched the commercial put together by this company and it focused on three things:

***  Giving some basic background information on the spine and the degeneration process.

***  Highlighting a study showing a very high success ratio with the treatment.

***  Showing testimonials showing happy people talking about the positive results they got from the treatment.

The video was obviously designed to alleviate the fear and anxiety of the patients, comfort them in their decision to embark on this journey and give them more certainty. The interesting fact is that I was taking it all in and asking for more, as it provided me with the reassurance and the hunger for information I was craving.

Are your patients getting the reassurance and all the information they need in order to be comfortable staying under your care? Are they getting it on an on‑going basis, visit after visit, all the time?

Patients are pulled in all directions and they often don't know who to believe anymore, who to trust. The alternatives are there, very tempting sometimes: traditional medicine, acupuncture, massage, drugs, bed rest, surgery. Some of these disciplines are very good at influencing patients and have huge financial back‑up to do so.

Educating patients during the Report of Findings isn't good enough. Using new patient education technology combined with enthusiasm, good listening skills and compassion will achieve wonderful results.

(Laurent Goldstein is president of Brican Systems Corporation. He can be reached at 800‑644‑1055.)