Page 45 - Hard Goals

36 HARD Goals

Notice the difference. In the fi rst scenario, you’re thinking about
H.B., an individual patient. In the second scenario, you’re think-
ing about a group of patients.
These scenarios were given to doctors in a range of settings;
some received the individual scenarios while others received the
group scenarios. Now, here’s the fascinating part: physicians
who read the group scenarios recommended just sticking with
phone follow-up anywhere from two to six times as often as
those who read the individual scenario! Maybe it’s just me, but
I’d rather come in and see my doctor face-to-face.
In another scenario, physicians were asked whether to order
an extra blood test to detect a rare but treatable condition for
a college student presenting with fatigue, insomnia, and diffi -
7
culty concentrating. Depending on the kind of physician they
asked (academic, county, and so forth), doctors who read the
individual scenario recommended the extra test (even though
it cost more money) anywhere from two to six times as often.
Again, and maybe I’m weird here, I’d like the extra test to rule
out the treatable blood condition.
So what can we learn? When they see somebody as an indi-
vidual rather than as an anonymous member of a group, even
highly analytical people like doctors respond differently. Which
part would you rather play in these scenarios: the individual or
the anonymous group member? (In my professional life, I’m a
pretty well-known proponent of humanizing the doctor-patient
relationship. And in my personal life, I’m just a guy who likes
to know that my doctor is really paying attention to me as an
individual and doing everything in his or her power to make
me well. So I’m going to vote for being the “individual” in these
cases.)