Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/bTWGLdnm90w   If you prefer more conservative medical therapy but must visit a surgeon for a consultation, pick an appointment at the end of day or just before lunch.  You’ll be half as likely to hear a recommendation for surgery.   A Swedish study of some 848 orthopedic appointments confirms that, when doctors are relatively fatigued, they avoid difficult or risky decisions.  Patients visited the orthopods during a total of 133 office sessions including morning, afternoon, or all-day.  The surgeons recommended operations more than 40% of the time earlier in the sessions but only 22% of the time at the end of any given session.   In general, if you can, see clinicians at the beginning of any given office session.  Their minds will be fresh and they will most likely be on time.   Emil Persson, Kinga Barrafrem, Andreas Meunier, Gustav Tinghög. The effect of decision fatigue on surgeons' clinical decision making. Health Economics, 2019; DOI: 10.1002/hec.3933   #Surgery #officevisits #c