15
Volume2 Issue6
|
CDA
at
W
ork
There isan interesting trend takingplace in the languageofhealthcare.
Moreandmore Ihear thepeoplewho receiveoralhealthcarebeing
referred toas
clients
insteadof
patients
.
TheOxfordEnglishDictionarydefines client as “apersonusing the servicesof a lawyer,
architect, socialworker or other professional”, or a “customer or patron”. Thenounpatient is
describedas “aperson receivingor registered to receivemedical treatment”.
When I hear thewordclient, I thinkof a relationshipwithaperson suchasmy lawyer,my
accountant,myplumber, ormyhairdresser. I have thegreatest respect for their expertise,
but I use their services for a specificpurposeand theyarenot privy toall thedetailsofmy
medical history.
The implicationof thewordpatient is completelydifferent. Yes, Imust participate in the
decisionmakingaroundmy treatment planandgive informedconsent for amedical
procedure, but at theendof theday I amgivingmydoctors thedetailsofmyhealthand
life,myhopes and fears, and I amdependingon them tomakedecisions forme that their
educationandexperienceuniquelyqualifies them for.My lifeandwell-beingdependon
their judgment andcare.
Thereare those in theoral healthprofessions that havemadea specificpoint of using the
wordclient insteadof patient. The schools inwhich theyareeducatedactivelydiscourage
theuseof thewordpatient, and in theentirecanonof someoral health regulators theword
patient barelyappears. Theyargue that the “client” has the right tochoose their provider, or
that theyarenot treating illness and therefore theperson isnot apatient.
Myopinion is that theuseof thewordclient insteadof patient reduceshealthcare toa
business transactionand thehealthcare service toacommodity.When someonehears the
wordpatient thenextword they thinkof isdoctor, as indoctor patient relationship, and
using thewordclient has thepotential tochange that dynamic in subtleandnot so subtle
ways.
Thepeoplewe treat arepatients, not clients. They trust us todiagnose their conditionand
prescribe treatment. Theygiveus their consent tomake invasiveand irreversiblechanges
to their bodies (thinkabout it, that’swhatwedoeach timeweprovide restorative, surgical,
Trust and ValueWorking Group
CLIENT
or
PATIENT?
Dr.LynnTomkins
LynnTomkins,DDS, is
theCDABoardmember
forOntarioand is a
memberof theTrustand
ValueWorkingGroup.
Shemaintains aprivate
practice inTorontoand is
on staffat theUniversity
ofToronto’sFacultyof
Dentistry.
Formoreon the topic
of ‘client vs. patient’
watchan interviewwith
Dr. Cheryl Cableof the
Universityof Albertaat
My opinion is that the use of theword client instead
of patient reduces health care toabusiness transaction
and the health care service toa commodity.
