A family physician,  Oluwafolajimi Senjobi, said that increasingly, attending to the health needs of Nigerian patients is becoming more difficult because a good doctor-patient relationship, has been hampered by economic meltdown, high cost of medication, overhead costs on health deliverables and doctors’s burnout.

According to him, difficult patients are usually demanding, noncompliant, dependent, and exhibiting traits like being violent, argumentative, litigious, drug-seeking, angry, non-paying, complaining, and even seductive.

Senjobi, however, added that a considerable number of patients that are labelled difficult actually have mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and borderline personality disorders or who have become dependent on prescription drugs or are substance abusers.

He emphasised the need for medical doctors to be able to identify difficult patients when they come to the clinic and appropriately manage them. 

He also urged the government to prioritise the interests of patients and pass legislation back for reimbursing services by healthcare providers.