The Doctor - Patient Relationship:

Being diagnosed with a disease such as Parkinson's disease is often a psychologically traumatic experience. It is crucial to establish a beneficial doctor-patient relationship at this time. (Lieberman, 1992) It is especially at this time, and in the early stages of the disease, that much of a patient's psychological condition depends on the patient's physician. Therefore, it is very important for a physician to be as conscientious as possible to ensure that they are doing everything they can to make this difficult time easier on the patient. Also, a positive patient-doctor relationship will make a patient more likely to inform the doctor of his symptoms and will encourage the patient to visit the doctor as frequently as is needed.

It is a very frequent occurrence that symptoms of Parkinson's are not recognized and treated as soon as they could be. This is because there is a great deal of fright and anxiety involved for both the afflicted and his family members in admitting that the symptoms may be those of Parkinson's. Often, both sufferer and close family members have repressed or dismissed the symptoms. (Lieberman, 1992)This may later lead to feelings of guilt that they did not give help sooner. Therefore, it is best if the physician does not reinforce the guilt by pointing out that the symptoms should have been recognized and treated earlier. This can cause animosity toward the physician and will not benefit the patient-doctor relationship.

It is also important that physician's do not inform their patients of a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease without a thorough examination, even if it is a clear-cut case. In patients who do not receive a lengthy, comprehensive examination, it is common to display disbelief of the doctor. It makes it more possible for a patient to attribute the diagnosis to a hasty examination and continue to deny that they have the disease. In order to prevent this denial, doctors should examine patients meticulously and should not share diagnosis with the patient until some time has elapsed after examination.

It is also crucial that the doctor spends some time to get to know the patient and family members prior to diagnosis. This is instrumental in developing a positive doctor-patient relationship. With this relationship established, the patient is much more likely to accept the diagnosis and to follow the instructions of the physician.

The relationship between the physician and the patient continues to be an important one as the disease progresses. The occasions on which a doctor's interactions with the patient are most influential on the patient’s psychological state are when medications are initiated or terminated. It is important for the doctor to understand that a change of medications to a patient can signify a failure of the previous treatment, or even a state of invalidity. (Lieberman, 1992) It is imperative that the physician reassure the patient that the termination of the previous treatment does not necessarily mean that it was a failure or that future treatments will fail. Many times, it is also crucial that the physician calm the patient's fear that a new medicine will render them invalid, as they may associate a particular medication with someone they know with more severe disability. This concern is especially relevant when implementing therapy with levodopa.

Article accredited to: http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/whathap/UBNRP/parkinsons/webpage.html