Towards more effective patient-physician communication

Tips for our Patients

By Enes Hajdarbegovic MD, PhD and Deepak Balak MD, PhD 

Doctors are subject to a very long and continuous education in the field of medicine. Now-a-days, doctors are also trained specifically in effective communication with patients. In contrast, patients generally have not received any formal training and at first have no experience in being a patient and communicating as one. This creates a large gap in skills and knowledge between doctors and patients. We are not claiming all doctors are super-communicators; there is - regrettably to say - certainly room for improvement. But in general, doctors do come better prepared and with more experience to the consultation room than their patients. That is why we would like to present a few tips for our patients to consider which will hopefully help to make them more skilful participants in the patient-physician communication. The tips are the following:

Tip no. 1: Trust your doctor.

No single doctor is interested in harming or disadvantaging you. We will never prioritize government’s, pharmaceutical company’s or our own interests over your health. Your health is our number one priority. However, we may not define efficient and meaningful healthcare the same way you do. That is why good communication skills and tailored patient information from our part are necessary. If you, after you have followed these tips, still feel you cannot trust your doctor, the best advice would be to find another one. Trust is the basis of every patient-doctor relationship. This does not mean you should blindly follow everything a doctor says from the start, but it means that relationship growth should be present.

Tip no. 2: Be straight-forward.

Evading the issues and being equivocal will not help your cause. In fact, we appreciate patients who express their wishes directly. Tell your doctor if you want test X done. He or she will explain to you what its value may or may not be in your case. If you are worried about having disease X, say so. Your doctor will help you understand the risk you are running of contracting that condition and the necessity of ruling it out. The same goes for a specific treatment you think may be a good option for you. It is helpful to be motivated about using a certain drug or undergoing a treatment. However, there may be facets you have not considered yet. That is where the doctors step in. State your aims and expectations. You will help yourself and your doctor by clarifying your expectations.

Tip no. 3: Be honest.

Tell us if you do not agree with the tests we order or the treatments we prescribe. If this is your second opinion take time to explain why it was necessary and what your expectations for this consultation are. Tell us why the first opinion did not meet your expectations. Are you doubting the diagnosis or the treatment? Were you unsatisfied by the way your former doctor communicated with you? Do not over-colour your symptoms and complaints. Exaggeration does not lead to more prompt or better treatments. On the contrary, it may lead to more aggressive, inappropriate treatment. State your complaints how they are. Do not hesitate to explain how these influence your daily life.

Tip no. 4: Be a team player.

It takes two to tango: Treating a condition requires active roles from both your doctor and you. Investing your time will certainly pay off. Do your best to understand your condition and why your doctor prescribed a certain treatment. Be aware of what best possible results are and what adverse events you could expect. Ask for a patient information brochure and make sure you read it. Use Google. Do not worry about our schedule; if there is anything your doctor said that you did not understand, say so immediately. We will gladly go through the trouble of explaining things twice in order for you to gain knowledge on your condition or its treatment. Stick to the prescribed treatment. If this does not work for you tell your doctor why it was hard to adhere to. Keep a list of your previous treatments and why they have failed to achieve success.

Easy and simple tips to follow, are they not? Unsurprisingly, these tips are not new and are not even limited to patient-physician communication. In fact, these can be followed when communicating in any relationship with any other fellow human being. Still, these tips are worth going over and consciously applying them to the consultation room situation. Whereas in other relationships there is ample time to get used to each other, the time available in the consultation room is limited. In a very short period of time, the patient and the doctor, two strangers at first, need to come together. Even if these tips may contribute in the smallest way to a more effective consultation, we are quite content. The ultimate goal remains improvement of the patient-physician communication which, hopefully, will lead to better care of our patients.