Psychology review: Remember the patient

Among all the lectures about retinal disease and technology developments at the annual conference of the British Association of Retinopathy Screeners held at the end of last year, one lecture from Adam Heritage (Imperial College, London) stood out. From his experience as a medical photographer, he felt that the issue of patient anxiety prior to an appointment had implications often forgotten and showed evidence that addressing this anxiety has clinical benefits.

Fear of the unknown

A study a few years ago on patients attending for MRI assessment, funded by Siemens, reported that 63% of them would rather not know than be told they had a treatable illness. This rather shocking statistic (which becomes less shocking when you think about it) underlines the problems faced by clinicians in terms of patient attendance and also, indirectly, with compliance with any management plans.