William Chey, MD, FACG, of the University of Michigan Health System, conducted the survey of 800 patients and 200 gastroenterologists. Shire Pharmaceuticals sponsored the survey.
One of the main highlights of the survey, according to Chey, was that more than half of the patients reported that they spent more than an hour a day on the toilet, whereas 10% spent more than 5 hours. The other takeaway was that there was a bit of a gap between what patients thought their physicians taught them about their illness and what physicians said they discussed with their patients. Chey said this gap could come down to the sheer volume of information patients have to absorb during a visit, as well as complicated medical language often used by doctors.
“It allowed not only a comprehensive deep dive into patients’ illness experience and what doctors think about constipation, but a comparison of the results yield from the patients as well as the gastroenterologists,” Chey told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease.
My throne is my sanctuary.