Delivering what patients need vs. what they say they want. Does it matter? Points to consider when framing your discussion and choices with patients.

Patients come to us for a variety of reasons, not all of which are centered on a musculoskeletal complaint, or even necessarily centered on regaining full function. This confounds some healthcare providers, and it can lead to confusion, distractions, and misdirected effort. Much in the patient complaint and presentation needs to be unpacked and contextualized to make sense of what a particular patient’s complaint is really about, what they really need, and to distinguish needs from wants. Join me in this podcast as I discuss ideas and perspectives that aid our efforts to deal with these issues to better help our patients.