a patient who repeatedly visits his or her doctor's surgery, often with multiple or non-specific symptoms, and whose complaints are impossible to treat
b.
(as modifier)
heartsink patients
Word origin
C20: so-called because the patient's appearance in the surgery makes the doctor'sheart sink
Examples of 'heartsink' in a sentence
heartsink
Doctors may well be too ready to tag a patient as heartsink.