How do we overcome the stereotype that mentally ill patients

How do we overcome the stereotype that mentally ill patients are ill because of something they did while physically ill patients are ill because of something that happened to them? Even physical illness is often blamed on the patient (e.g., lifestyle behaviors), (1) to what extent does such blaming interfere with, even suppress, empathy or patient-centered care? (2) How do insurance restrictions reduce the quality of care and diminish outcomes for mentally ill or lifestyle-related illness?”

Solution

How do we overcome the stereotype that mentally ill patients are ill because of something they did while physically ill patients are ill because of something that happened to them? Even physical illness is often blamed on the patient (e.g., lifestyle behaviors),

The term stereotype refers to certain common negative assumptions a specific community possesses about others which separates, discriminates them from the group and instils fear, and hopelessness among them.

There are some common stereotypes, prejudice, misconceptions and myths about people suffering from mental disorders. They are:

As a result, psychologically incompetent individuals not only suffer from diseases and disabilities alone but also they are also affected by these misconceptions which reduces their quality of life even further down.

In a similar way, there is a strong disbelief among people suffering from physical problems. One example is that people often discriminate those with HIV because they perceive that the infection would spread to others by physical contact such as touching, kissing, etc. Similarly, there is a negative stereotype exit between ageing and illness – ageing leads to more illness. Research proves that ageing leads to physical decline and risk of health problems, however, it will not actually lead to ill-health.

Even though these misconceptions are getting lesser nowadays, these stereotype attitudes is a major hurdle towards quality of patient care rendered to them.

(1) to what extent does such blaming interfere with, even suppress, empathy or patient-centered care?

Stereotype and patient-centered care:

Patient-centered care refers to the type and quality of care which focuses on meeting physical, psychological, social, spiritual and often emotional needs of a patient.

Negative stereotype prolongs hospitalization:

As negative stereotype attitude affects the psychological and emotional component of patients, their recovery is prolonged. Consequently, their healthcare stay (hospital or nursing home) is prolonged leading to increased medical expenses.

Negative stereotype reduces family participation in therapy:

It should be noted that not only individual’s participation in a therapy is crucial but also the family support. Family members must know causes of the health problem/disease for their family member and find ways to support treatment. For example, a patient with diabetes mellitus due to overweight should be counselled and educated regarding lifestyle changes like weight reduction, increased physical activity etc. It should be noted that an effective family participation in the therapy reinforces the positive changes in the patient’s lifestyle and encourages him to keep diabetes under control. Therefore, family members should also be educated regarding lifestyle changes, etc. However, if the family has a misconception about this disease then the entire support gets lost and eventually the patient loses his self-esteem, confidence and are more prone to worsening of diabetes.

Negative stereotype affects patient’s health adversely:

In some healthcare settings, a disbelief among age, gender, race, ethnicity and social status affect their health status more severely. For example, public campaigns often reinforce negative misconceptions about a particular social class or ethnicity leading to poor-centered patient care.

(2) How do insurance restrictions reduce the quality of care and diminish outcomes for mentally ill or lifestyle-related illness?”

The type of insurance a person possess affects his health-seeking behaviour and the treatment he receives at a hospital. For example, most insurers restrict certain type of care to patients, thereby, affecting their accessibility, affordability and quality of health services significantly. The most common insurance restrictions and their impacts are:

Not considering the mental illness:

Most of the insurer nowadays, provide low pay to psychiatrists and psychologists because these insurance companies perceive mental illness not a real problem to a person suffering from. Some of the insurers even exclude these specialists and specialty hospitals from their coverage. As a result, many physicians now deny to treat patients with private insurance. The ultimate loss is those suffering from mental illness and because of these effects their illness is not identified and treated effectively.

Prior authorization policies:

If a person wants to claim for reimbursement, then he must get prior authorization for the treatment rendered by a doctor from the insurance company. This is a tedious or extra work for health providers in addition to the care being given to those sufferers. As a result, it slows down the effectiveness of treatment rendered to patients.

Exclusion of certain illness:

Some insurers, with this process (prior authorization), often exclude certain medical or physical conditions from their plan. Therefore, in a routine elective treatment, it is often mandatory for doctors to get prior approval from insurers to cover the cost of their therapy. Eventually, patients cannot pay themselves for some of the physical problems and are left untreated.

Delaying treatment and/or excluding medications:

Most insurance companies while trying to cut costs down make approval for the therapies or drugs which are cheaper than effective treatment methods or other drugs. They often exclude some of the drugs and put them in a category as ‘formulary exclusion list’. The impact of these processes are delayed treatment and more suffering by patients.

All these problems lead to reduced or poor quality of care and delayed treatment for physical and psychological illnesses/disorders.