A link to a video, the Too Informed Patient came my way several times lately. You can find the curious clip on NPR’s Mar­ket­place site:

The Too Informed Patient from Mar­ket­place on Vimeo.

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The skit depicts the inter­action between a young man with a rash and his older physician. The patient is an informed kind of guy – he’s checked his own medical record on the doctor’s website, read up on rashes in the Boston Globe, checked pix on WebMD, seen an episode of Gray’s Anatomy about a rash and, most inven­tively, checked i-​​Diagnose, a hypo­thetical app (I hope) that led him to the con­clusion that he might have epi­dermal necrosis.

Not to worry, the patient informs Dr. Matthews, who mean­while has been trying to examine him (“say aaahhh” and more), he’s eli­gible for an exper­i­mental pro­tocol. After some back-​​and-​​forth in which the doctor, who’s been quite cour­teous until this point — calling the patient “Mr. Horcher,” for example and not admon­ishing the patient who’s got so many ideas of his own, the doctor says that the patient may be exac­er­bating the con­dition by scratching it, and ques­tions the wisdom of taking an exper­i­mental treatment for a rash.

“I just need you to sign this paper,” says the patient.

The doctor-​​puppet pauses momen­tarily, seem­ingly resigned to a new role. After the patient leaves, the doctor thinks to weigh himself. The skit ends with the sounds of key­board typing.

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The piece sup­plies thought-​​provoking details in under 2½ minutes. It’s a useful teaching tool, among other things. There’s been some dis­cussion about it on the NPR site, the Patient Empowered Blog, the Health Care Blog and else­where. Some com­ments suggest annoyance, that the “informed patient” is mis­rep­re­sented here as exag­gerated or foolish, or that the skit is off-​​mark.

To me it rings true, rep­re­senting an older doctor who’s trying, open-​​mindedly but not at the cutting edge, to embrace new tech­nology, and has the patient’s interests at heart. His efforts and his knowledge are set aside.

My reaction is sadness. Am I the only one?

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Thanks to the team who created this insightful pro­duction: pro­duced by Gregory Warner and Mara Zepeda. Created by Sebastienne Mundheim of White Box Theatre, acted by Charles Del­Mar­celle and Doug Greene, and voiced by two actors from Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre Company, and to NPR’s Mar­ket­place for presenting.

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Related Posts:

• On Patient Empow­erment and Autonomy
• Are Doctors Necessary?
• Remem­bering a Warm-​​Hearted Patient
• Thoughts, on Getting My Photo Taken at a Medical Appointment
• The Immea­surable Value of Con­ti­nuity of Care