Here are four points:
1. Many patients look to the Internet for health advice, and may present their physicians with their own health plans. Physicians may consider viewing patients as teammates, spending more time with them to understand their logic on certain decisions.
2. Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey recently implemented a training program focused on patient-centric care. The program teaches medical students how to explain medical conditions to patients in a way that’s easily understandable.
3. Physicians may want to be prepared to keep patients in the loop through every stage of care, so they are fully involved in the decision-making process.
4. Donald Cegala, PhD, of Ohio State University researches physician/patient communication and suggests patients use his PACE program: provide information about health concerns, ask questions, check a physician’s instructions and express concern about any health problems. He believes direct communication will improve quality of care.
More articles on quality & infection control:
Anesthesiologist-led care model shows successful outcomes in outpatient gallbladder surgery patients: 4 study insights
Changing climate harms growing adolescents — 5 key takeaways
Dr. Jonathan Kaper named Beaumont Hospital’s chief medical officer, patient safety officer: 5 notes
