Last Updated on January 13, 2022 by Neelam Singh
With a series of qualification under his belt, Dr Saransh Gupta, FNB (Spine Surgery), MS (Orthopaedics), DNB (Spine Surgery), MRCS (Edinburgh), Endoscopic spine surgery fellowship (France), is one of the popular names among Spine surgeons in Delhi. He has an experience of more than 8 years and more than 3000 spine surgeries to his credit. Dr Gupta talks to THIP Media on the various aspects of a patient’s behaviour that make treating him easy or difficult for a doctor.
What is the best thing you enjoy about treating patients?
When I see a patient getting free from pain, being able to move around again and is satisfied that brings in my satisfaction and joy about my work.
When is a patient easy to treat?
Patient who trusts the Doctor are much easier to treat. Also some patients come in with clear understanding of the condition they are suffering from, treatment options as well as the Pros and Cons of each. This enriches the doctor-patient conversation and the patients can take part in informed decision making wisely.
When is a patient difficult to treat?
Patients who come with a rigid mindset are very difficult to treat. Then there are others who self medicate themselves, those who take opinion of multiple doctors and non medicos – all these make the doctor’s job very difficult.
How helpful is it to the treatment course, if the patient is knowledgeable about the treatment procedure, benefits, risks etc.?
Very helpful – both for the doctor and the patient. While the doctor can straightway discuss treatment options with the patient, the patient can also take a meaningful part in that discussion.
How can a patient improve his knowledge about the treatment procedure?
Reading from credible sources can be a good starting point. But please stay away from non-credible or unverified literature and sources.
How medical misinformation act as a problem in the overall treatment procedure?
I find this as a very big problem today. Patients read up from all non-credible sources and already have a pre-conceived notion when they walk in to the doctor’s chamber. For examples, I have seen patients walking in with certain symptoms very confident that they have a Vitamin D deficiency or suffering from some muscle spasms. After a thorough medical investigation, neural compression has been found to be the cause of the symptoms. In such cases, it takes a lot of effort to convince the person on even why a certain diagnostic test is prescribed.
A few advice that you always give to your patients…
Exercise and balanced diet are very important for a healthy life. And please discuss with your doctors for health issues. Do not self medicate.
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