When AIDS became a chronic disease

tant step involves respectfully listening to patients describe their symptoms, without labeling the symptoms prematurely as predominately psychologic.The physician should avoid cutting the patient off in midsentence.Second, every illness has both a psychologic and a physical component, but an accurate assignment of percentage for each may not be possible.Acknowledging the experience for patients increases the likelihood that they will work with you to get better.Third, reassure patients that, although they may continue to have symptoms, their level of functioning will improve.Finally, do a complete assessment, which should include an occupational and environmental history to understand possible triggers.If this health concern is aggressively attended to early, the pitfalls of patients developing chronic illness may be avoided........