Understanding Medical Gaslighting
Medical gaslighting is a significant issue in healthcare. Whether intentional or not, it undermines the trust between patients and clinicians. At its core, gaslighting is the act of manipulating someone into doubting their reality or experiences. This happens when patients report their symptoms or health concerns, and providers dismiss or downplay them.
Consider a common analogy: You hear a strange noise in your car while driving on the highway. But when you take it to the mechanic, they can’t replicate the issue on a short test drive and, therefore, conclude that there’s no problem. As soon as you’re back on the highway, the noise reappears, leaving you frustrated and powerless. This experience mirrors what many patients go through in healthcare, feeling unheard or misunderstood when reporting their symptoms.
The Disconnect Between Patients and Providers
Patients today have access to an overwhelming amount of health data. They often track symptoms, nutrition, exercise, hydration, and even sleep patterns through apps and devices. This data can offer critical insights into their health journey. However, there’s a significant disconnect: much of this data remains invisible to clinicians.
As an example, after childbirth, I struggled with weight loss. I diligently tracked my diet, exercise, and behaviors using various apps, but when I visited my clinician, I had no efficient way to share this data. The best I could do was hand over my phone and scroll through the summaries. This lack of integration made it difficult to convey the full scope of my efforts and progress.
In many cases, clinicians end up documenting visits with vague notes like, “Patient reports exercising and tracking health data but is not progressing in weight loss.” This does little to reflect the patient’s effort or guide the next steps in care. However, if my health data had been automatically integrated into my medical record, the clinician’s note might have been more informative: “Patient’s health data shows consistent healthy eating and regular exercise, but disrupted sleep patterns. Referral for sleep apnea evaluation recommended.” This kind of data visibility could dramatically improve care and outcomes.
Addressing Medical Gaslighting with Data Integration
What patients often perceive as medical gaslighting stems from the lack of visibility into their health data. Fortunately, there is a solution: integrating consumer-level health data, such as from fitness trackers and mobile health apps, directly into electronic medical records (EMRs).
Companies like Locus have been at the forefront of this movement, ensuring that metabolic health data is seamlessly incorporated into EMRs. When clinicians have access to this continuous data, it becomes much harder to dismiss a patient’s reality. They can see the patient’s ongoing efforts and challenges, allowing for more informed and compassionate care. This also removes the burden from patients to constantly prove themselves and their symptoms.
The Future of Patient-Provider Collaboration
Improved data visibility doesn’t just enhance trust—it can also lead to more effective care. Imagine a scenario where a clinician asks a patient to increase their daily exercise. If the patient doesn’t follow through, the data will show that. But rather than simply reprimanding the patient, the clinician can ask, “Why?” Is it due to childcare responsibilities, financial constraints, pain, or something else? Understanding these barriers is key to providing real, patient-centered care.
By having full visibility of a patient’s health data, clinicians can ask the right questions, identify obstacles, and work collaboratively with patients to find solutions. This deeper level of engagement is crucial for improving outcomes and strengthening the patient-provider relationship.
Solving the Problem of Medical Gaslighting
To prevent medical gaslighting and the resulting frustration, we need to bridge the gap between patients and clinicians. Data visibility—enabled by the integration of health-tracking tools into EMRs—offers a simple and effective solution. It allows clinicians to see the full picture of a patient’s efforts, progress, and challenges, leading to better-informed care and more empathetic interactions.
By embracing this technology, we can move healthcare toward a future where patient experiences are fully validated, and medical gaslighting becomes a thing of the past.
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