Benefits Of Good Doctor-patient Communication - Outcomes Improve

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Benefits Of Good Doctor-patient Communication - Outcomes Improve

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=67421

A systematic review of studies published over the past four decades

has confirmed that good doctor-patient communication makes a

difference not only in patient satisfaction but in patient outcomes

including resolution of chronic headaches, changes in emotional

states, lower blood sugar values in diabetics, improved blood

pressure readings in hypertensives, and other important health

indicators. The review, published by researchers from the Indiana

University School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute, Inc.

and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Emory

University, appears in the April 2007 issue of Medical Care, a

journal of the American Public Health Association.

" In looking at these 36 studies we learned many things. For example,

research on non-adherence to doctor's instructions has focused on

bad or poor behavior by patients rather than on the clarity of the

physician's instructions or whether the physician actually checked

to see if his or her instructions were understood by the patient.

The physician assumed that the patient understands and thus will

comply. But is this a logical assumption? We don't assume that when

a pilot and an air traffic controller converse that they have

understood each until there is an affirmation of understanding. That

acknowledgement is lacking in most patient-physician encounters, "

said el, Ph.D., IU School of Medicine professor of

medicine and Regenstrief Institute research scientist, senior author

of the study. Dr. el is a sociologist who studies ways to

improve the doctor-patient relationship. He is currently

investigating how behavioral changes by both doctors and patients

impact medical care.

" From previous work, including a well regarded 1999 study from the

University of Washington, we know that doctors ask patients whether

they understand what was discussed during a medical appointment only

about 1.5 percent of the time, " said Dr. el. " It is extremely

important that a patient be given the opportunity and probably even

encouraged to ask questions. Doctors should be trained to routinely

check for understanding to ensure that there is neither

miscommunication nor mismatch between what the patient wants and

what doctors assume the patient wants. "

Co-authors of " Communication Interventions Make A Difference in

Conversations Between Physicians and Patients: A Systematic Review

of the Evidence " are Jaya K. Rao, M.D., M.H.S. of the Centers for

Disease Control; Lynda A. , Ph.D. of Emory University;

S. Inui, M.D. and M. el, Ph.D., both of the IU

School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute.