When a patient sees their medical doctor, they expect a high level of service. Not everyone, however, finds themselves leaving the office of a practicing medical physician happy and healthy.
A patient may believe that they were wronged in some way that can cost you your professional license. You may be baffled to find a patient accusing you of some sort of misconduct that might suspend any further work in the medical field.
Having an accusation against your name can be startling, especially when you aren’t quite sure what it stemmed from. Here’s why a patient might allege that you wronged them during their last visit:
They say you abused them
If a patient believes you did not handle them gently enough, they may accuse you of physical abuse. If you inadvertently touched their breast or buttock, they might accuse you of sexual abuse. Or if they took something you said in the wrong way, they might accuse you of some form of discrimination.
Having a nurse or a third party in the examination room can often prevent false allegations.
A patient believes they were discriminated against
It might surprise you to know that the medical treatment of white people is sometimes different from that of people of color. This has been a historical issue that causes racial bias in the medical field to this day. Hence a patient may be hyper-sensitive and interpret one of your innocent actions as racially motivated.
For example, if you refuse them medication or disagree with their opinion of their condition, they might believe you would not have treated a white person the same and file a complaint.
Your reputation and career are at stake when a patient files a complaint. Getting help to know your options to protect your medical license will be crucial.
