How to Improve Doctor Patient Communication Techniques

As a doctor, whether you are engaged in public or private practice, communication skills are of crucial importance. Learning how to improve doctor patient communication is one of the best ways you can improve the quality of care that you provide and the satisfaction level of your patients, with immediate effect. In today’s blog post, we examine the most effective ways in which you can improve doctor patient communication and suggest the best way to get started.

 

How to Improve Doctor Patient Communication as Quickly as Possible

 

The faster your communication skills improve, the faster your clinical results and patient satisfaction levels should also improve, all other factors remaining equal. With this in mind, here are the most effective ways in which you can make the necessary improvements:

 

• Simplify Your Vocabulary – We’re not suggesting you use baby language to speak to your patients, unless you’re a paediatrician of course. We’re simply recommending that you use plain, simple terms when discussing symptoms, diagnoses and treatment plans with patients. If you follow this advice, you are likely to encounter less misunderstandings in the future.
• Take a Communications Course – It may sound like an obvious suggestion but you’d be surprised just how many people overlook this key option when looking for ways to improve their communications skills. With an accredited course, you can learn core communication techniques and learning strategies to employ in the future, helping to ensure you never stop improving.
• Learn How to Create a Welcoming Atmosphere – With so much emphasis rightly placed on the ability of doctors to ask the right questions when dealing with patients it can be easy to forget how important it is for patients to feel able to ask questions too. Sometimes the questions that patients ask can reveal more useful clues to their conditions than the answers they give to your own queries.
• Take the Time to Listen – Whether your patients are answering your questions or posing their own, it is vital to take the time to listen to everything they have to say. Roughly three-quarters of clinical decisions can be made based on a patient’s clinical history alone so it is always worth listening out for precious clues when engaged in doctor patient conferences.

 

By enrolling in one of our communications courses, you can discover more about how to improve doctor patient communication in all kinds of clinical settings.