Communication between a physician and patient is a popular subject matter in the Healthcare industry. A good, healthy relationship between physicians and patients is extremely important and extremely necessary. According to a consensus statement on physician and patient communication, “effective communication between doctor and patient is a central clinical function that cannot be delegated.” There is no evidence that communicating well with patients will make an enormous difference on any healthcare outcome. The purpose of this consensus is to evaluate the effects of various styles of communication on patient health and to identify the characteristics of excellent communication. The studies reviewed were conducted in a variety of clinical settings, and their findings are of relevance to physicians in all area of practice. For years it was commonly thought that physician-patient communication was generally adequate and was not a cause for concern. More recently, however, evidence has mounted to the contrary. Numerous complaints stemming from breakdowns in physician-patient communication have been made to licensing bodies, and headlines declaring an “urgent need for MDs to relate better to patients” and criticizing the “cold, hard” manner of physicians have appeared in the medical and popular press. Some of these problems can arise during history taking or during discussion of how the patient’s problem should be managed. Some may be related to a lack of communication
Communication in the healthcare field may be a little different for some people. Healthcare requires the communication to have a purpose, and that purpose is revolved around a person’s needs. A patient with good staff communication during
Poor communication puts patients in danger because it can lead to medical errors and adverse events. For example, a medication error can occur if a physician’s orders are not updated in time or if the outgoing nurse does not provide the correct time in which a dose was administered last. Thus it is crucial to communicate any recent treatment that has been implemented. In this way, nurses and physicians can facilitate the prevention of errors. Another consequence of ineffective communication is that it can decrease morale and increase work-related stress among members of the healthcare team. If nurses and physicians are not understanding each other’s actions, conflict ensues. It can cause toxic interpersonal relationships. This, in turn, will affect the level of patient care because it is difficult to focus amidst emotional strain and
Investigating problems on both the doctors and patients side during the interaction at any medical appointment is key when interpreting statistics that relate to this matter. These aspects will be further explored later in this paper. The general consensus from many articles and studies indicate that miscommunication is a massive problem that impacts many individuals who die each year from miscommunication. Furthermore, each article shows a different perspective on where this error comes from and where, both doctor and patient, go wrong and what they can both do to improve the communication between them. Another aspect that must also be incorporated into this argument is that communication is not all verbal and that non-verbal communication can be just as effective or ineffective when it comes to dealing with other medical personnel or patients. The 7% rule coined by Albert Mehrabian in his book “Silent Messages” states that “93% of communication is non-verbal, with 55% being body language and 38% being tone of voice; leaving only 7% of communication being verbal.” (“Silent Messages” Albert Mehrabian), and that ineffective or bad non-verbal communication can be just as detrimental during an interaction as verbal communication. Unfortunately, for doctors, the precision of the execution in this small 7% of communication is crucial when explaining challenging
The purpose of effective communication in healthcare is to provide first-class medical care, minimal to no medical errors and have precision; and without it there is room for medical errors, poor patient care and an ineffective team that produces undesired outcome. In the professional and patient relationship, the lack of good communication causes the patient to be apprehensive in asking questions, to worry about being bothersome because they feel other patients are sicker, and there is an assumption that the patient does not have any concerns. There are barriers to communication that include only one between the sender and receiver of the message understands the message, cultural differences, and lack of education. In sending the message it is essential that the message is received with clarity, it is concise and complete. If the patient has a language barrier, it can be masked by the patient not responding to information and it is detected as a result of poor or no compliance. In literacy concerns, all information should be presented on a 5th grade level to aid in the comprehension of the information. The care of the patient should be patient/family centered which helps in detecting any language, cultural or literacy barriers (Schyve, 2007). For example, a 46 year old single male patient that is functionally literate is admitted with a diagnosis of acute angina. During the
Good communication between physician and patient is vital for a patient to make an informed choice regarding their care.
Helman, C. G. (1981). Disease versus illness in general practice. The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 31(230), 548-552.
Professional Communication is a very important element in the foundation for a strong health care system. Communication can also serve as a basis for basic health care administered. Communication is not only the one tool in health care in which we can control, but also what helps prevent the derailment in patient-healthcare professional trust.. Types of model that can help express how important professional communication is within health care is the movie titled, The Doctor. There are various examples in this movie in which the importance of professional communication is portrayed and supports the argument, as well. These types of examples and supporting data can also be found in real life testimonies of what type of situations can result from lack of professional communication in the health care setting. Communication teaches the importance in human-to-human contact that some hospitals and health care setting may lack due to the certain personality type that is more attracted to the roles of doctors. Professional communication should remain at the forefront of bed side manner and proper etiquette in the health care field and setting.
In recent times, in the field of health communication, a shift in beliefs has become apparent. Many feel that the physician-centered approach is no longer the best way to manage the interaction between patients and doctors. A new collaborative approach has been adopted by many. This collaborative approach is more of a partnership between the patient and doctor. More communicating by the patient, and more listening by the doctor. When the doctor and patient speak to one another, they speak to each other as peers sharing ideas,
How we communicate effects everything we do. Whether talking to patients and family members, speaking in a team meeting, or talking with our children’s teacher at a conference, communication is how we learn information, teach information and express our concerns. With this paper I will discuss; the definitions of healthcare communication, the relevancy of effective personal healthcare communication with other healthcare professionals, clients, and patients, the relevancy of effective professional healthcare
Communication plays a big role in the health care system. Without effective communication, how will we keep our patients safe? It is imperative for health care workers to have proper communication with their patients. It is also important for interdisciplinary teams to communicate effectively. According to the Joint Commission, seventy percent of sentinel events were caused by failure of communication (Dingley, Daugherty, Derieg, & Persing, 2008). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the seven principles of patient-clinician communication to meet patients’ expectation and using interdisciplinary communication to improve patient safety.
Communication plays a vital role in the healthcare setting, as the relationship with the healthcare professional sets the tone of the care experience and has a powerful impact on patient satisfaction. It is “the shared process in which messages are sent and received between two or more people which are made up of a sender, receiver, and message in a particular context” (cite, date). This essay highlights the importance of, and some common barriers to, effective communication in the healthcare setting. It involves many interpersonal skills such as effective observation, questioning and listening, giving feedback, recognizing and removing barriers.
“Extensive research has shown that no matter how knowledgeable a clinician might be, if he or she is not able to open good communication with the patient, he or she may be of no help” (Asnani, MR. 2009). Effective communication plays a big role in healthcare and contributes to the quality of patient care and teamwork.
Malissa Brown: Yes, Malissa communication does a play a big role in the medical field; it would be almost impossible to continue patients’ needs and to run a health facility without it. You provided a great example, when stated “When there is a lack of communication on a regular term symptoms can be ignored or unattended to. One concern with communication is the fact that patients describe symptom in a different manner compared to care providers”. With this being said communicating in a clear manner and asking about the patients medication in a simple term will help avoid error. Do you think miscommunication happens to a lot of patients when they seek their health care provider?
Communication, in healthcare, is a multidimensional concept that involves patients, family members, and a health care team. There is a direct correlation with communication, improving a patient's well being, and quality of care. Adequate communication among physicians and their patients is an actively growing research topic. Results supplied by such studies have provided effective recommendations for oncologists and their team. These recommendations include the patient-physician relationship, how physicians utilize medical information, how physicians deal with patient emotions, physician self-management, and educational conferences designed to sharpen communication. Communication is important during each phase of cancer care.
There are a number of key elements that help to provide a framework that enhances truthful communication. Firstly, there is the need to develop open and honest communication from the very beginning of the patient-health professional relationship. Secondly, the health professional needs to use patient penchant as a “weigh” by asking them what they wish to know, how much they wish to know, and determining what they already know. In other words, it is a responsibility of the health professional to get a ‘feel’ for the situation, including the patients’ perception of the situation (Ashcroft, Dawson & Drape 2007).