Communication is one of an essential skill in a professional’s life. When you can listen carefully and communicate effectively, then you have already won half the battle. It removes a lot of hindrances, confusions and it is quite beneficial for your professional life. Effective communication gives you a confident personality.
When it comes to healthcare, the communication between patient and provider should be a compelling one. The relationship between these two is sacred. For the best diagnosis, the interaction between these two needs to be clear. Any error in communication will get you problems with medication, diagnosis, and prescription. There will also be a loss of confidence amongst the team. The medical environment is quite stressful which exhausts the providers. In return, the patient and their families are left frustrated, and providers are burned out. The declining revenues and increasing number of fraud and abuse are already pushing them to the edge.
In healthcare, we strive to give the best care to the patients. It is essential to understand that if we miss out on the crucial information from the patient, then it might cause fatal complications to someone. We need to bring the touch of humanity in healthcare sector through right kind of communication to facilitate the experience of engagement. Let us look at some ways through which effective communication can be incorporated into the day to day life of physicians:
Listen And Pay Attention
A patient comes to you with a lot of hope. They are distressed, and they do not suffer alone. Their families are in pain too. And this is the situation of every single patient that you attend. To listen to your patients attentively, engage with them and let them know that you are with them, giving them utmost care and attention.
Jargons Are Not For The Patients
Patients want to know what is happening in their body and how can it be cured. They want to know the severity and the treatment. Don’t nurse them with medical jargons that they can’t understand. More than the treatment it is the hope that keeps patients going strong. So explain them everything in details with minimum medical language.
Understand Then Reply
Patients are not necessarily equipped to explain their problem properly. You must be dealing with different kind of patients on a daily basis. It is mandatory for the physicians to understand the question and then give a prompt reply. You need to make them feel at ease. Talk to your patients gently in a soft voice so that they feel comfortable while talking to you.
Answer Their Queries
Patients satisfaction should be the priority when it comes to clinical communication. There are so many instances where patients feel that the doctor did not give a prompt answer to their query. The patient would not be satisfied and might not even come back to you the next time. Also if the question is related to finances, you need to explain them in layman’s terms so that they understand the process.
If the physicians focus on an approach of clear communication, it will strengthen their understanding with the patient. With lesser number of confusions, the doctor would be more productive in a day.
