What's in a word?

[john-boy-92]

Health care in the UK has seen a change in the last couple of years. Patients with one or more long term conditions are now asked about their experiences and how they would like to be treated. Carers are also consulted. Well done to all the organisations and Universities that go that extra mile, you are truly appreciated.

I come across questionairres that perhaps need some revision. Below are examples from a medically validated questionnaire for over-65s who have multiple long-term health conditions.

* A sentence with "...concomitant medication...".

* Asking whether their medication was an antocoagulant or antiplatelet.

* Options for mood including; "I feel blackout".

Those of you who are older may remember the TV series "I Didn't Know You Cared", where one of Uncle Mort's favourite words was concomitant. When did you last use concomitant discussing medication, or indeed anything?

The people in this forum are erudite and know about their condition and medication. Maybe others might find those questions difficult, particularly if English is not their first language. I too am guilty of using complicated words and expressions. I recently attended a Primary Care Network meeting as a patient, and in talking about cholesterol, referred to HDL. Admonished for using jargon, I then said high-density lipoprotein: that resulted in blank looks. Perhaps it's not easy to convert medical-speak into plain English.

[Jalia]

Re your comment in your first para.....patients with long term conditions are asked about their experiences etc......really ?? I've never been asked.

[john-boy-92 in reply to Jalia]

I should have clarified that I volunteer for studies related to strokes and atrial fibrillation. Within the last two months and currently, that's three Universities, the Stroke Association, and Bristol Health Partners Stroke HIT. My GP's Practice doesn't ask and, nor does the Primary Health Care Network where I'm a member of a Patient Participation Group. If you have the time for Zoom or Teams discussions, I can recommend these studies; they could change other people's perceptions of your condition.

[Jalia in reply to john-boy-92]

Thank you. I understand now.

Personally , with 30 years of AF and all its vicissitudes , it all pales into insignificance now that my husband has Parkinsons and prostate cancer to deal with ! It would be a bit different though if I had suffered a stroke as you have.

I wish you well John !

[john-boy-92 in reply to Jalia]

To have AF for so long and now caring for your husband, you have more than your fair share. Nothing I write will change that, but you and your husband are in my thoughts. Once we are up against a serious medical issue, we move in a different world away from petty annoyances. I wish both of you as well as you can be.

[Singwell]

I agree it's not common parlance and many patients would have difficulty understanding what it means.

[reinaway]

I'm not proud - what does it mean? 🤔

[john-boy-92 in reply to reinaway]

It means to be connected with. I take an anticoagulant (for stroke and AF), and the concomitant drug that I take is to reduce blood presssure. I also take a medication because I have a suspicious prostate, but I wouldn't refer to it as concomitant. I have to admit that it wasn't until I did a recent lived-experience stroke study with a University, that I found out clopidogrel is an antiplatelet, although I was prescribed it for a while after the stroke.

Back in the day I worked in a Government agency that had KISS as a useful acronym for reports; "Keep it simple, stupid". These days you could not use the word stupid. Way back, latin was used to separate a small section of society from the populace. The use of latin and other terms in medicine can also separate us from understanding. The questionairre that I referred to will be translated for six other countries. Good luck with a direct translation of concomitant, unless it's a translation of 'connected with'.

[Jalia in reply to john-boy-92]

Your reference to Latin takes me back to my school days when we were expected to pass GCE in Latin if we wanted a career in Medicine or Law !

[Qualipop]

I'm very particular about using the correct terms and often use medical terms for parts of the body like explaining that I have pain over my iliac crest. I'm often asked if I have medical training, sometimes in a quite sarcastic way. No, I just had a good education and believe it helps to be precise.

[john-boy-92 in reply to Qualipop]

When I was in hospital with pulmonary toxicity, the Consultant mentioned my quick recovery. I said that as part of my gym training, I used a Power Breathe and that strengthened my intercostal muscles. He looked perplexed. Are you an anatomist, he asked. I get a similar response from medical students when I refer to Krebs Cycle.

[Qualipop in reply to john-boy-92]

They seem to think you shouldn't know such words. What's so unusual about intercostal?

[petmice in reply to Qualipop]

I, too, think it's important to be precise to minimize miscommunication (I also may have OCD, so being precise is kind of a need with me). I remember a little from my college anatomy and physiology classes 40 years ago, but I am always learning. And every time I or a loved one develops a medical condition I get to add to my learning. 18 months ago my afib caused me to learn more about the heart. I am currently learning about kidney function as my brother is about to lose one of his kidneys after a year of trying to save it. Lucky for me I enjoy learning new things.

[Jalia in reply to petmice]

You sound very much like me! I have to know as much as possible about any new condition afflicting family. I'm usually the first port of call for advice ! I'm a graduate of the Dr Google School of Medicine 😂

[Barb1]

It's a pity that this hasn't transferred itself to GP surgeries where you are allowed 10 minutes to discuss one ailment only.

[john-boy-92 in reply to Barb1]

Yes. The 10 minute appointment was a BMA recommendation that ended a few years ago. Strangely, GPs like to keep it. At the Practice where I'm registered, a face-to-face with a GP is rare. It is recommended that a GP attends a Patient Participation Group meeting, but I've yet to see one. Hence, I'm told not to use jargon when I mention HDL. In the latest group, I did say before the first meeting, that it needs a GP to attend to field medical questions. What a surprise when I'm told they are under too much pressure to attend. In comparison, I've had a couple of quick email chats today with a medical academic who is in a University and works in the NHS.