Home  Dealing with Difficult Patients
Dealing with Difficult Patients
Original Publish
Date: June 16, 2008
Review Date: NA
Term of Approval End Date: June 16, 2009
Estimated Time to Complete: 1 hour
Risk Management: Yes
Course Format: Text
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.
Instructions for Completing this Course
and Exam
The following course was
developed in a text format. When you are done reading the course
content pages, click Proceed to Exam in the left
navigation bar. You will be directed through the eCommerce
screens. After payment is received, the exam will display.
After completing the required
reading through the Course Information below, click on
Start button to begin the activity.
Course Information
Intended Audience
This course is intended for
physicians and allied health professionals.
Course Objectives
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Identify the possible reasons for
patient noncompliance.
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Cite the importance of
documenting noncompliance in all patient interactions.
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Develop an internal system for
identifying noncompliance.
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List the steps to terminate a
physician-patient relationship if deemed necessary.
Course Credit
Deadline for completing the course
is June 16, 2009.
The Massachusetts Medical Society
designates Dealing with Difficult Patients 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.
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Henry Tulgan, MD, FACP
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Eric Berkman, Freelancer for
Lawyers Weekly
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Reni Gertner, MPH, Editor Lawyers
Weekly
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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/19/6/533
Am 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
Helpful
Hints
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This course and all associated
materials are available free of charge. To complete the exam and
receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, a nominal fee is
applied at the end of the course.
-
If you need to stop in the middle
of a course, you may return to the course at anytime to complete.
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This course requires
Adobe Reader
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This course is optimized for
Internet Explorer 5.1 and above, and Netscape 4 and above.
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To read our Copyright
Policy click on the left navigation bar.
-
-
Contact us at continuingeducation@mms.org or (800)
322-2303. Massachusetts Medical Society, 860 Winter Street, Waltham, MA
02451.
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