Online Continuing Education

Dealing with Difficult Patients

Original Publish Date:

June 16, 2008

Review Date(s):

June 15, 2009, June 5, 2010

Term of Approval End Date:

June 16, 2011

Estimated Time to Complete:

1 Hour

Risk Management:

Yes

Course Format:

Text

Course Fee:

Mbrs-$10, Non Mbrs-$20

To participate in this CME activity: (1) review the information on this page which includes the learning objectives and faculty disclosures; (2) read the course pages; (3) complete the exam; (4) view/print certificate

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Course Information



 

 

 


 

General Information

  • If you need to stop in the middle of a course, you may return to the course at anytime to finish.
  • When you have finished reading the course pages, close the window and click on CME Exam in the Course Sections box.
  • To begin this CME activity, read through the information on this page and then click on the Start Course button (page bottom).

Course Overview

Dealing with Difficult Patients is jointly sponsored by the Massachusetts Medical Society and Lawyers Weekly, Inc., publishers of Massachusetts Medical Law Report.  Issues dealing with noncompliant patients are one of the prevalent sources of successful malpractice suits and disciplinary actions before the state Board of Registration in Medicine. In malpractice cases with a severe patient outcome, damages can run well into the seven figures. Specific communication and risk management strategy techniques and greater patient involvement in the process of care may also enhance the relationship and address the “difficult” behaviors. The following CME activity includes the Massachusetts Medical Law Report article, "Risk managers offer tips for working with difficult patients" followed by a summary with risk management strategies. 

Intended Audience

This course is intended for physicians and allied health professionals.

Course Objectives

  • Identify the possible reasons for patient noncompliance.
  • Cite the importance of documenting noncompliance in all patient interactions.
  • Develop an internal system for identifying noncompliance.
  • List the steps to terminate a physician-patient relationship if deemed necessary.

Course Credit

Deadline for completing the course is June 16, 2011.

The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.  Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This program meets the criteria of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for risk management study.

Participants will receive a confidential report of their examination score. You must receive a score of 70% or better to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.  A confirmation of credit will be issued at the end of the course to those who successfully complete the examination.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the Joint Sponsorship of the Massachusetts Medical Society and Lawyers Weekly, Inc.

The Massachusetts Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

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Course Fees

Dealing with Difficult Patients and all associated course materials are available free of charge. An opportunity to complete an exam and receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for a nominal fee is available at the end of the course. The course fees are as follows:

Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Member: $10 ($10 per credit)

Non-MMS member: $20 ($20 per credit)

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Course Materials

Dealing with Difficult Patients

Disclosure/Commercial Support

The following course content developers have no financial interests or relationships to disclose.

  • Henry Tulgan, MD, FACP
  • Eric Berkman, Freelancer for Lawyers Weekly
  • Reni Gertner, MPH, Editor Lawyers Weekly
  • Kathleen Bellisle, Manager of MMS Distance Learning

Off-label Disclosure:

This course does not include any discussion of an off-label use of a commercial product or an investigational use not yet approved for any purpose by the FDA.

Commercial Support

No commercial support was received for this online program.

Content Disclaimer

The Massachusetts Medical Society does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this CME program, which was provided by Lawyers Weekly, Inc. and summarized by Henry Tulgan, MD, FACP. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

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Online Course Developers

Henry Tulgan, MD, FACP
Reni Gertner, MPH, Editor Lawyers Weekly
Kathleen Bellisle, Manager of MMS Distance Learning

Bibliography

How Respected Family Physicians Manage Difficult Patient Encounters
Posted 01/16/2007
Nancy Elder, MD, MSPH; Rick Ricer, MD; Barbara Tobias, MD, accessed on April 30, 2008.
http://www.jabfm.org/cgi/content/abstract/19/6/533Am Board Fam Med. 2006;19(6):533-541. ©2006 American Board of Family Medicine

Management of the Difficult Patient
Leonard J. Haas, Ph.D., Jennifer P. Leiser, M.D., Michael K. Magill, M.D.,
And Osman N. Sanyer, M.D., The University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, accessed on April 30, 2008.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20051115/2063.html

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20051115/2063.pdf

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Hardware & Software Requirements

Supported Browsers
Internet Explorer v.7 or greater (for Windows)
Mozilla Firefox v.2 or greater (for Windows, Mac, Linux)

Minimum System Requirements

Windows Systems Requirements

  • A Pentium-based PC or compatible computer.
  • At least 64MB of RAM.
  • Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP/Vista system software.
  • Screen resolution of 1024 x 786 or larger recommended
  • PDF Reader: Adobe Reader 5.0 or higher, Foxit Reader 2.0 or likewise.

Mac OS System Requirements

  • A PowerPC processor-based Macintosh computer.
  • At least 64MB of RAM.
  • Mac OS 7.5 or later.
  • Screen resolution of 1024 x 786 or larger recommended.
  • PDF Reader: Adobe Reader 5.0 or higher, Foxit Reader 2.0 or likewise.

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Policies

Contact Us

Contact us at continuingeducation@mms.org or (800) 322-2303, ext. 7306. Massachusetts Medical Society, 860 Winter Street, Waltham, MA 02451.

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