Medical school teaches us many skills, like how to decipher symptoms, perform a physical exam, and document medical history.
But it doesn’t always teach us the skill of patient communication. In fact, research indicates that clinicians “listen” to patients for a mere 11 seconds, on average, before interrupting.Respectful, open communication vastly improves a patient’s outcomes.
This is especially true for patients whose conditions may provoke distrust and miscommunication — depression, anxiety, trauma, and ADHD, to name a few.
With stronger patient-provider communication, we are more likely to win over patients and improve treatment adherence. Take the following communication strategies to your next patient appointments.Do close-ended questions — which only produce “Yes,” “No,” and “I don’t know” answers — dominate your interactions with patients?