“Do they think I’m good enough?”: General practitioners’ experiences when treating doctor-patients

When doctors seek medical care, there is evidence that the treating doctor can struggle to provide optimal treatment. Guidelines state that doctor-patients should be treated like any other patient, but this is challenging for the treating doctor. This study set out to explore both the positive experiences general practitioners (GPs) have when caring for doctor-patients, and the challenges they confront. It sought to identify whether GPs believe they treat doctor-patients differently to other patients and if so, in what ways, for what reasons, and how this impacts their provision of care. The study also aimed to develop a model that makes sense of GPs’ experiences when caring for a patient who is also a medical doctor. Qualitative in-depth interviews with 26 GPs were carried out, with analysis of de-identified transcripts using pragmatic grounded theory. Evolving understandings were used to develop a model to make sense of GPs’ experiences caring for their doctor-patients. The core aspects of GPs’ experiences of treating fellow doctors centred around concepts of respect and collegiality. These play a central role in mediating how a treating doctor experiences a consultation with a doctor-patient, influencing the quality of care provided. GPs shared that the use of medical language (and assumptions about the doctor-patient’s knowledge/behaviours), testing, the exploration of sensitive issues, and the degree of shared decision-making were areas where their treatment might vary when treating a doctor-patient. Treating doctors often experience anxiety about errors and the likely scrutiny from the medical, and wider community. The decision to treat the doctor-patient differently was driven by a desire to maintain a sense of collegiality, to not offend, to meet their doctor-patient’s expectations, and to appear competent. The professional socialisation of doctors, with its emphasis on collegiality and respect, plays a significant role in the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship when a doctor treats a doctor-patient. Current guidelines make little reference to these dynamics with the over-simplified ‘keep it normal’ recommendations. Treating doctors need evidence-informed training to navigate these challenges and ensure they can effectively deliver quality care to their doctor-patients.