I was disappointed that Frank Sullivan and Jeremy Wyatt suggested
that the "collusion of anonymity" occurs when hospital and primary care
each thinks the other is arranging follow up. I don't think this is
correct.
The phrase was coined, as far as I know, by Michael Balint and and
the collusion truly occurs when "the patient is passed from one specialist
to another with nobody taking responsibility for the whole person"
(Editorial: The Doctor, his Patient and the Illness - revisited. Balint
Society Journal; 2005. 33http://www.balint.co.uk/journal).
This is an important issue which I think is fundamental to good
medical practice and crops up daily.
Rapid Response:
Collusion of anonymity
I was disappointed that Frank Sullivan and Jeremy Wyatt suggested
that the "collusion of anonymity" occurs when hospital and primary care
each thinks the other is arranging follow up. I don't think this is
correct.
The phrase was coined, as far as I know, by Michael Balint and and
the collusion truly occurs when "the patient is passed from one specialist
to another with nobody taking responsibility for the whole person"
(Editorial: The Doctor, his Patient and the Illness - revisited. Balint
Society Journal; 2005. 33http://www.balint.co.uk/journal).
This is an important issue which I think is fundamental to good
medical practice and crops up daily.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests