http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/02/victim-patient-profiling.html
It doesn't mention Sjogren's or other autoimmune, but an interesting point of view anyhow.
Sharon
Good stuff Sharon. I know they profile always have, and it totally clouds their judgement. On an aside , the article on the next section should make patients everywhere get out the pitchforks and torches. Esp reading the comments. How many people with connective tissue disease or AI disease, have been profiled as being hypochondriac or health anxiety, or attention/drug seeking, delaying diagnosis and proper treatment for years. I bet many of us have experienced the..*well everything seems normal* doctors that think we are making it all up.
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2014/03/confessions-medical-scribe.html
I had a friend that was a medical scribe oh about 8 years ago, and that article is spot on. But she refused to cover up something that was involved in a malpractice suit and lost her job. Afterwards she really let out all the stuff that goes on that puts patients at risk. People need to wake up and start demanding that congress etc, hold these companies and doctors responsible. Or congress can get the boot too, they are too comfortable sitting in power. Peoples lives are at stake I dont give two flying monkeys about the profit they make off the of the corpses of their patients. its blood money imo. They all need to be held accountable.
Then there is this one: http://myheartsisters.org/2012/06/04/anxious-female/
Gad!
Sharon
I can so relate. Thankfully, when I challenged my pain management doc on a label he attached to me, on second visit, he corrected it and removed it. But it still showed up in my record in appts with other specialists. So I advised him of that as apparently it wasn't removed in the historical record. He also corrected that and even thanked me for bringing it to his awareness.
Now I still have to get corrected with vascular doc a frivolous "GAD" diagnosis regarding my blood pressure issues. That last followup, I ASKED QUESTIONS as simple as it would appear I did in fact damage my spine more than initially thought. Paroxysmal hypertension onset was weeks following injury. And the level of injury to cord was consistent with what lit the match to paroxysmal hypertension (autonomic dysreflexia). He really had nothing to say on that. It WAS a legitimate question to THE doctor treating me for paroxysmal hypertension given he had no idea what was causing it after a year and a half and previously assumed it was TBI and thyroid related consistently.
Next I know, new diagnoses: benign hypertension (I'm on so much clonidine 3 x day to treat it plus avapro it's masking basically) and GAD. I'm like WHAT??? He doesn't respond to messaging, so I have to wait until next followup to have that corrected.
Just for asking perfectly logically and legitimate questions to which I received no answers, just silence in addition to a GAD diagnosis?
But this type of profiling affects perception and approach of other doctors with access to notes of doctors with the same affiliation. My regular gastro doc made a point last followup of advising me to look at the encounter diagnosis and advise her if it was incorrect. That was after the challenge with pain doc in messaging of the totally frivolous dx that had no basis or foundation at all to support it. Thankfully, pain doc without hesitation corrected his error. Thankfully, last visit with pain doc he LISTENED and now finally I have referral to neurosurgeon consult.
A good "find", Sharon, on the article.
Unfortunately, like everything else, it is also caused by people that DO abuse the system and make it hard on those that don't and are truly sick.