Writing Down Goals

People's stated preferences are often inconsistent with what matters most to them (their values). And they are often based on misconceptions, distress, and less effective cognitive coping strategies. For instance, a person might say "My goal is to have no pain" when that is not possible. Or they might say "My goal is to get the shot that fixes this" when there is no such shot. It may go without saying that people want: "To be able to live a normal lifestyle" and "To be able to accomplish most of their goals." In other words, people want to be able to be themselves. They are seeking care because they are not able to be themselves or they are concerned that they may not be able to be themselves. The word health comes from an old German word meaning "whole."

One part of good health is correcting or alleviating pathophysiology (e.g. reading glasses). Another part of good health is evolving one's inner narrative (e.g. "I'm older now and need glasses to read").

The women's health IPU at UT Health Austin is happy with having patients write down their goals at their first visit and then tracking those. It would be interesting to study people seeking musculoskeletal specialty care to determine whether asking patients what result of their care would be rated a success helps direct the clinician-patient interaction in a more fruitful direction compared to the usual clinical interaction.