Question

You are the case manager for a 35-year-old man being seen at a primary care clinic for chronic low back pain. When you meet with the patient, he says that he is having problems at work; in the past year he has been absent from work about once every 2 weeks, is short-tempered with other workers, feels tired all the time, and is worried about losing his job. You are developing this patients plan of care. On what should the goals for the plan of care focus?

1) Increase the patients pain tolerance in order to achieve psychosocial benefits.
2) Decrease the patients need to work and increase his sleep to 8 hours per night.
3) Evaluate other work options to decrease the risk of depression and ineffective coping.
4) Decrease the time lost from work to increase the quality of interpersonal relationships and decrease anxiety.

Answer 1

The goals for the plan of care should focus on evaluating work options to decrease the risk of depression and ineffective coping, and decreasing the time lost from work to increase the quality of interpersonal relationships and decrease anxiety.

Step-by-step explanation:

The goals for the plan of care should focus on evaluating other work options to decrease the risk of depression and ineffective coping and decreasing the time lost from work to increase the quality of interpersonal relationships and decrease anxiety. These goals address the patient's concerns about his job, stress levels, and overall well-being. Increasing the patient's pain tolerance or decreasing the need to work and increasing sleep are not directly addressing the patient's work-related problems and may not address the underlying issues he is facing.