Top 5 Examples of Medical Gaslighting and What You Can Do About It!
By Space Coast Daily // October 24, 2022
Having to visit the doctor is usually something most people dread as there is always a fear that something can be seriously wrong. However, what is worse than the fear of a doctor giving you bad news is when you know something is wrong with your body, but your doctor insists that everything is fine.
Feeling safe and cared for by doctors is something medical patients hope to experience. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for some medical patients who endure a phenomenon called medical gaslighting.
Faith Fletcher, an assistant professor at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, defines medical gaslighting as when healthcare providers dismiss concerns, feelings, or complaints.
Medical gaslighting can affect the mental and physical well-being of a patient. It affects their mental health because the patient knows something is wrong, but the person who is supposed to know best does not believe them.
Patients can then begin to doubt themselves, possibly leading to depression. Furthermore, their physical health can become jeopardized due to delayed treatment. When health is impacted due to the negligence of healthcare providers, it is best to seek the assistance of medical malpractice lawyers. “Medical gaslighting occurs when a physician or other medical professional dismisses or trivializes a person’s symptoms”, says Rusell J. Berkowitz from Berkowitz Hanna Malpractice & Injury Lawyers.
Examples of Medical Gaslighting
Interruption
An interruption during a conversation makes it challenging to get your point across. Hence, it may be difficult to explain why you seek medical attention if your doctor constantly interrupts you. Additionally, according to a physician ethicist named Dr. Alyssa Burgart, when a patient is interrupted by their doctor, it gives the impression that their time is not valuable to the doctor.
Rushed Visits
Although there is no standard time frame that doctors must spend with their patients, some doctors tend to rush through a visit. Understandably, healthcare providers work fast under constant pressure to facilitate visits. However, it is inexcusable for a doctor to withhold their full attention from a patient because they are busy. Necessary details about your symptoms might be absent when a doctor rushes you. A medical malpractice lawyer can assist you in determining if a mistaken diagnosis, oversights, or gaslighting was caused by being hurried.
Failure to Discuss Your Symptoms
A doctor refusing to discuss your symptoms or passing them off as insignificant is committing medical malpractice because they failed to have a two-sided conversation where your symptoms can be thoroughly assessed. Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis can result from a lack of communication. A study from 2020 shows that seventy-five percent of diagnostic errors occur due to cognitive factors in decision-making, such as overconfidence in a wrong diagnosis. Burgart explains that racial and gender biases can lead to doctors having preconceived ideas of what is causing your condition.
They Let Underlying Biases Affect the Diagnosis
Racism, ableism, and misogyny are some social biases that may cause doctors to perform a misdiagnosis. In 2017, a review identified thirty-five studies revealing that biases in healthcare providers lead to lower-quality care. Undoubtedly, lower-quality care can be detrimental to health. For instance, cystic fibrosis, Lyme disease, and skin cancer were diagnosed later in African Americans than Caucasians, a 2020 paper.
They Say It Is All in Your Head
Not being believed can be a frustrating experience, even more so when your doctor does not believe you. Telling a patient that they imagined the symptoms or diagnosing a mental health condition rather than conducting further testing for a physical issue happens more often than it should.
What Can You Do About Medical Gaslighting?
Serious health consequences can result from medical gaslighting. You can contact a patient advocate if you are unsatisfied with the doctor’s information. A patient advocate will help you effectively communicate with your healthcare provider to get the necessary information. However, if your claims have been dismissed and resulted in your health being negatively affected, you may be able to sue for medical malpractice. An excellent medical malpractice lawyer can assist you in obtaining compensation for your health complication that resulted from negligence.
