3 minute read
Know your patients
As advances in technology accelerate, Dr. Dalibor Slavik brings home the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and knowing your patients.
By Maria Ryhorski
Dr. Dalibor Slavik immediately grasped the severity of his long-time patient’s pain, noting his strained movements as he struggled to get out of his chair, and the tight, pale expression drawn across his face. “I just knew that there was something going on.”
This particular visit took place at Dr. Slavik’s clinic, where he was able to observe the patient’s symptoms, not just hear about them. These in-person visits are still the norm but a recent survey by the Canadian Medical Association shows that the public is pushing for a different type of care. A significant majority of those surveyed indicated a desire for virtual care, with 75 per cent believing it would improve access, and two-thirds believing that it would be more convenient and result in better care overall.
While Dr. Slavik emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology to improve patient care, he also believes that truly getting to know your patients and building a trusting relationship with them is at the core of good family medicine – and that’s difficult to do from the other side of a screen.
The patient went into surgery that night, just a few hours after'coming into his office with back pain.
That face-to-face interaction provides the opportunity to observe a patient’s body language and expressions. It also builds trust and allows the doctor to truly get to know the patient. Once that relationship is established, the physician can decide when a virtual visit would be appropriate.
Subtle things like eye contact and active listening are things that Dr. Slavik focuses on to build that relationship.
He recalls an elderly female patient who came in one day and talked at length. “Some of the time, I didn’t even know what she was really talking about,” he says with a laugh. “She told me about all these problems that she had and they were problems that you really couldn’t do anything about. And then afterwards she stood up and said, ‘Well, doctor, thank you very much. You’ve really helped.’ My first reaction was, ‘But I haven’t done anything.’ And then I thought about it and realized, but I did."
Dr. Slavik notes that this in-person interaction is often particularly important among patients with cancer, who are often propelled from one specialist to another, “and nobody, at any stage, explains to them what they can expect and why this is being done. And I think that’s where the family physician comes in. That’s why trust needs to be there, so that when you explain the whole situation to them, they can understand it.”
Dr. Dalibor Slavik in his exam room, surrounded by photos of babies he delivered.
Building a relationship with patients where there is mutual trust allows patients to feel safe and cared for, both physically and mentally. “I would say that, often, more than half the problem is what goes on inside your head. So that mental and even social component of care is very important.”
For this reason, Dr. Slavik makes a point of following up with patients who have recently been in the hospital and out of his care.
“I think that visit, though it could be perceived as unnecessary from a strictly medical point of view, is very important from a psychological and social point of view … Taking the time to say, ‘So you’ve had a hard time of it? What about your wife? How is she coping with it?’ That immediately opens up the conversation and that builds trust.
“When I go back to that patient who came in looking pale and couldn’t get out of his seat,” Dr. Slavik says, shaking his head, “I mean it wasn’t anything else but a sixth sense that something serious was wrong. Every now and again you have that, and you can only get it if you know your patient and you’ve developed that trust with them.” ◆
