Stop using phrases that treat patients like children, doctors told

‘Language that belittles patients runs counter to the collaborative relationships we are trying to foster’

DOCTORS who tell patients they are “sending” them home from hospital are treating them like children and “belittling” them, Cambridge University researchers have warned.

An opinion piece published in The BMJ suggests that language which “belittles or blames patients” should be overhauled.

Phrases such as “poorly controlled” illness or “treatment failure” should also be scrapped, according to researchers Caitriona Cox and Zoe Fritz.

They argued that it is not “political correctness” to change medical language and accept that simple words and phrases used by medical clinicians can affect their relationship with patients.

They also warned against language that makes patients feel “passive or childlike” while emphasising the doctor’s position of power, including to “take” a medical history or “send” a patient home. However, the authors did not suggest an alternative phrase for “sending a patient home”.

Language that suggests a patient is childlike is particularly common with conditions such as diabetes, they said, adding: “There is an authoritarianism, for example, in talking about patients not being ‘allowed’ certain foods by their doctors. Although patients can find such language upsetting or frustrating, some also adopt a childlike narrative, describing the effect of being ‘naughty’ or ‘good’ on their blood sugars.”

Last year, the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a guide to “language, narrative and concepts,” which suggested describing “a diabetic” as “a person living with diabetes”.

“Our primary goal is not to provide a definitive list of ‘correct’ terms, but to give some guidance on equity-focused, person-first language,” the AMA said.

The BMJ authors suggest some medical language “belittles patients” and “casts doubt on patients’ experiences”. For example, the word “complain” has negative connotations’, and “problem” or “concern” should be used instead.

The researchers said that many phrases are “deeply ingrained” in medical practice but doctors must work to use language that “facilitates trust and supports shared decision-making”.

“Language that belittles, infantilises, or blames patients runs counter to the collaborative relationships we are trying to foster through initiatives such as shared decision making,” the researchers argued.