When Time and Space is the Treatment

In my pediatric practice, it is not uncommon for a parent, given the space and time, to reveal a critical and unexpected piece of information. Consider these two stories, with details changed to protect privacy. Jennifer’s Mom was desperate for a change in her ADHD medication. A previous doctor had diagnosed her and now she was increasingly distracted in school. In telling me Jennifer’s story, Mom focused on all the different medications she had been on and how they had controlled her symptoms. Towards the very end of the 50 minute visit Mom almost casually dropped this information. “She’s wary of therapists because of what happened with DCF (Department of Children and Families.)” I asked why. Recently, Jennifer had told a therapist about her stepfather’s behavior and it had been reported as possible abuse.

Five year old Kevin’s Mom was distraught about his constant fighting with his younger sister. He always had to have everything first, his demands were escalating. They were having increasing difficulty getting out of the house in the morning. I saw them for 2 fifty minute visits. The first involved the whole family and we talked about some common approaches to managing behavior. I was struck by Mom’s level of distress, which seemed out of proportion to this fairly typical sibling rivalry. Towards the end of the second visit, when Mom was alone with Kevin, she quietly began to cry. I looked puzzled. She told me of the horrible accident that had taken the life of her older brother when she was a child. Her family had never mourned this loss. That trauma came flooding back now that she had two children of her own.

“If you ask questions you get answers-and hardly anything else.” This well know aphorism in medicine comes from a book, The Doctor, HIs Patient and the Illness by Hungarian psychiatrist Michael Balint. In this book he documents his experience running groups for primary care doctors. He writes of the “doctor as drug,” describing how doctors use themselves and their relationship with their patients as an important part of the care they offer.

Time and space, then, is the treatment. It gives patients a chance to say what is really important, the things that won’t come out if doctors just ask questions. For parents who feel stressed and alone, an opportunity to sit in a quiet room with respected and attentive listener for 50 minutes is invaluable. It gives them an opportunity to think about their child, rather than simply get advice about what to do. In both of these cases, telling their story was essential for effective treatment. For Jennifer, she needed an acknowledgement of the trauma of that experience with DCF, which now got in the way of her asking for help. Kevin’s mother recognized how her own unresolved loss interfered with her ability to respond effectively to her children. In a brief visit structured by questions, parents are unlikely to develop the comfort required to open up.

The world of business has its own saying: “Time is money.” For the private health insurance industry it is more profitable to cover a brief "medication check" than a 50 minute visit. Put this together with huge marketing efforts from the pharmaceutical industry and you have a big problem. Prescribing medication takes much less time than sitting with someone until they trust you enough to talk about what is important.

Primary care practices must have a large staff to manage the complexities of multiple different insurance plans. Office managers spend hours making calls and filling out forms to get insurance companies to give prior authorization for such things as MRIs and neuropsychological testing. In order for the practice to be viable and support this staff, the doctors are forced to see more patients in less time.

The interests of the private health insurance industry and the interests of children can stand in direct opposition to one another. As health care reform (I hope!) proceeds, the perspective of this non-voting population must be taken into account.