Box 4.

: Patient confused by conflicting advice from doctor and other sources of information

• Patient 45
• Mrs Y is a 56 year old widow whose husband recently died of heart failure. She has made an appointment with the doctor because she has a list of symptoms which she thinks are “grievement trying to come out”
• Doctor 12
• Dr B is female doctor in a single handed rural practice
• Summary of misunderstanding
• The patient tells the doctor she had been taking her late husband's temazepam. The doctor prescribes some more. On cashing the prescription she receives conflicting advice
• Consultation
• Doctor: I don't think there's any harm done in u ... you know using them occasionally. The problem with temazepam is that you may well get
• Patient: I don't wanna get addicted
• Doctor: Sort of ... sort of stuck on them and not be able to ...
• Patient: Yeah. Yeah
• Doctor: ... stop using them
• Postconsultation interview with the patient
• Patient: Yes, she's [doctor] given me a few more sleeping tablets ... but when I went down the chemist to get them, he [pharmacist] said take them ... she never told me this, take them three nights on the trot, and then leave them off for a week, which I have done, so tonight I start taking them again, but I won't unless I have to