Snow Leopard
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How many studies exist that talk about somatisation disorders among physicians? I don't know of any.
An interesting question for sure.
The thing is, somatization tends to be something that psychiatrists think exist, but physicians often do not.
JAMA. 1985 Dec 6;254(21):3075-9.
Somatization disorder. One of medicine's blind spots.
Quill TE.
Abstract
Patients with somatization disorders are frequently unrecognized and misdiagnosed. The diagnosis depends on recognizing a long-standing pattern of seeking medical intervention for vague, multisystemic symptoms, often without clear physical cause. These patients use symptoms as a way to communicate, express emotion, and be taken care of. Instead of recognizing the disorder and exploring psychosocial contributors to illness, nonpsychiatric physicians tend to repeatedly pursue organic possibilities through multiple tests, procedures, medications, and operations. In patients with somatization disorders, the dollar costs of this strategy are only exceeded by its potential for iatrogenic harm. More productive treatment strategies are presented, emphasizing the need for a long-term relationship with a primary care provider who will treat the patient and his symptoms seriously and respectfully but who is not compelled to invasively evaluate all symptoms.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4057529
Notice how the author is deciding on behalf of patients that the evaluation/desting is 'invasive' and iatrogenically harmful. Without actually ever asking patients how they feel about it...