Imposing psychological pressure
It was obviously patients who facing with treatment decisions undertook huge psychological pressure. Patients expressed self-referral have compelled them get into emotional predicament.
“Self-referral made me perceive huge pressures from economy, job and family relationship. etc. The dilemma then was my family members and I couldn’t accept the approaching dialysis, because we have achieved the better treatment by referral.” (P18)
The up and down of self-referral progress and unfamiliar hospital environment also aggravated patients’ nervousness and restlessness mood.
“We didn’t know what to prepare…Many articles of daily use were bought as we used. Most inconvenient of all was accommodation problem for my wife. She had to share a hospital bed with me for saving expense.” (P9)
Not only patients, but also nephrologists felt that they were overwhelmed by self-referral patients’ high expectations for treatment.
“one self-referral patient told that he turned to our hospital for hearing about its’ reputation after turning to hospitals in Beijing and Nanjing. I felt too hard to deal with patients’ overconfidence.”(N5)