Three Levels of Pain And How To Relate At A Deeper Level
The reality is that most people live with some level of pain and discomfort. And most people don’t do much about it (besides maybe rest and ibuprofen). People only seek help for the pain when it starts to become a bigger issue in their life or there’s a deeper concern about what’s going on. When a new patients presents to your office they often don’t even realize how the pain is impacting their life. Which is why it’s up to you to ask the right questions to gain a deeper understanding of their concerns and worries. Understanding the three levels of patient problems will help you understand their problem to improve communication and ultimately, provide better care.
Physical Pain
The first level of a patient’s problem is the physical pain itself. Back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain…whatever it is. Most doctors stay in this superficial level when working with their patients. Where is the pain? Right or left? What type of pain? How long have you had this pain? Has it gotten better or worse? Clinically, answers to these questions are important but they don’t get you any closer to understanding the real problem a patient is dealing with. We have to go deeper.
How The Pain Impacts Their Life
The second level involves how this pain impacts their day to day life. What activities does it get in the way of? Understanding the type of activities and how the pain is limiting them will help you deeper understand why they are in your clinic in the first place.
The Emotional Impact It Has On Their Life
The third and deepest level of questioning should focus on the EMOTIONAL impact this pain is having on their life. Example: let’s say someone really likes to work out and their back pain is keeping them from being able to do that. Well why to they like to work out? Maybe it’s an important stress reliever. And maybe since their back pain started keeping them from working out they are more stressed. Maybe the built up stress is starting to impact their relationships at home and in the work place. THESE are the issues that people want solved and are willing to go out of network for.
Most patients won’t be able to articulate these problems. Which is why it’s up to you to ask the right questions. Asking deeper questions lets the patient know that you actually care about their concern. It also that you understand their REAL problem. And it’s up to you to communicate that you specialize in fixing these emotional problems that pain brings. When they know you care, understand their problem at a deeper level, and that you’re the person to solve that problem they will be happy to pay for your out-of-network services.