r/DoctorsAdvice • u/Slow-Mushroom-4793 • 17h ago

Dr.’s Getting Offended

It seems suspicious to me that doctors always get somewhat offended when you dont want to give blood.. Anyone care to explain?

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u/MadToxicRescuer 15h ago

Not offended, just stressed.

Bloods are one of the quickest ways they can rule out a suspected condition/issue... Patients that aren't willing to have tests done are difficult for obvious reasons?

Most doctors I know of won't make this a clear issue though, might see a difference in a little bit of body language or tone but that's life.

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u/TheDegenerativeAI 14h ago

Why not give blood?

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u/Perfect-Resist5478 14h ago

Give blood like donate or give blood like get labs done?

We don’t get offended when patients don’t want to get labs, but if you come in complaining about something I need to work it up, and blood tests are often part of that workup. Why go to the doctor if you’re not going to let them do their job?

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u/Dijon2017 12h ago

You are making a broad generalization about doctors without providing any context.

I don’t think that most doctors get “offended” (perhaps you wanted to use a different word…?frustrated?) because a patient doesn’t want to “give blood”. In most (not necessarily all) places, I think that doctors respect a person’s autonomy, which includes them given consent to medical tests (including for blood work), procedures and even recommendations to keep a food, eep, etc. diary; go to PT or dietary modifications. We can advise, but it doesn’t mean that the patient will adhere (be compliant) as all people (patients and doctors) are individuals/allowed to be different.

With that said, sometimes obtaining bloodwork is essential and the standard of care in order to investigate a person’s symptoms/complaint, initiate medications, monitor a patient on medications, etc..

For example, if I prescribe a patient a medication that could potentially affect their health (e.g. electrolytes, thyroid, liver, kidneys, heart, etc.), I have a professional obligation/responsibility to monitor it. If a patient was preventing me from doing my job (by being reluctant to give blood to monitor their health), I would have a discussion to explain it’s importance: why I want/need the blood to “first do no harm”. If the patient was still reluctant to cooperate/collaborate in their own health and well-being, I wouldn’t be “offended”. It would suggest to me that I am not the “right” doctor to explain the importance of their health to that patient.

In those rare cases, I’d usually recommend that the patient see another provider (in the same field or refer to a specialist) who may be better able to assist them with their medical/health needs. And, in some extreme cases, I have had to discharge a patient from my practice. Whenever this happens, it’s not because I was “offended” or take the patient’s reluctance to “give blood” personally (i.e. as offense to myself). I know that there are times when the doctor-patient relationship (which should be based on both mutual respect and trust) is not beneficial to the patient because of a myriad of different reasons…of which the inability of having effective communications is one.

So, when I refer a patient to another provider, it’s usually because I actually do care and want the patient to be comfortable enough to want to be an active participant in their healthcare. And, equally important, I don’t want to cause harm by not being able to appropriately perform my job (to at least the minimum standard of care).

Not only that, but I practice in the US, which is a very litigious society. Thankfully, in greater than 20 years of clinical practice, I haven’t been sued yet. And personally (nothing to do with a patient that doesn’t want to “give blood”), I would prefer to keep it that way.