All Patients:
It is of the utmost importance that patients provide accurate, relevant and timely information about your health status and history. During an appointment, all questions must be answered truthfully, disclosing all relevant information that will help in your treatment. Failure to do so releases the physician and the medical team from liability caused by diagnosis and treatment based on incomplete information.
Teens:
One of our goals in caring for adolescents is to maintain parental trust and support while respecting the adolescent’s need for confidentiality and consent. The transition to adolescent care makes it imperative that the paediatrician begin to relate first to the patient and second to parents. As Cohen so well stated: “Unfortunately, some pediatricians view this shift in emphasis as an assault on the family and thus adolescent medicine is often cast in the role of anti-family. This could not be further from the truth. To support and interact with a teenager, especially one in trouble, is the ultimate in family support and integral to the nurturing of a stable family unit.”
It is our experience that the adolescent and his or her parents may need to discuss some issues separately. At least part of the teen’s visit to Quinte Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine is routinely conducted with the patient alone. Most parents understand and welcome this transition. It affords an opportunity for a freer interchange on health issues and, frequently, more decisive management. The value of the feeling that “I am going to the doctor” rather than “my mother is taking me” cannot be underestimated.
Social Media Community Standards
We love engaging with our patient families and our community via social media. If you plan on participating in the online conversation, we ask that you first please read our Social Media Community Standards.