1. It is estimated that one-third of adults with chronic illnesses underused their prescription medication due to cost concerns, misunderstanding or distrust; yet they fail to communicate this information to their physician.

​

2. Less than half of hospitalized patients could identify their diagnoses or the names of their medication(s) at discharge, an indication of ineffective communication with their physicians.

 

3. A clinician may conduct as many as 150,000 patient interviews during a typical career. If viewed as a healthcare procedure, the patient interview is the most commonly used procedure that the clinician will employ. Yet, communication training for clinicians and other healthcare professionals historically has received far less attention throughout the training process than have other clinical tasks.

 

4. Most diagnostic decisions come from the history-taking component of the interview. Yet, studies of clinician-patient visits reveal that patients are often not provided the opportunity or time to tell their story / history, often due to interruptions, which compromise diagnostic accuracy. Incomplete stories /history leads to incomplete data upon which clinical decisions are made. When interruptions occur, the patient may perceive that what they are saying is not important and leads to patients being reticent to offer additional information.

 

5. Adherence is defined as the extent to which a patient’s behavior corresponds with agreed upon recommendations from a healthcare provider. Certainly, we are all aware of the huge problem of non-adherence in health care. For instance, a Health Care Quality Survey   conducted by the Commonwealth fund found that 25% of Americans report they did not follow their clinician’s advice and provides the reasons cited in this survey:

 

• 39% disagreed with what the clinician wanted to do (in terms of recommended treatment)

• 27% were concerned about cost

• 25% found the instructions too difficult to follow

• 20% felt it was against their personal beliefs

• And 7% reported they did not understand what they were suppose to do

 

6. Patient Satisfaction: The core elements comprising patient satisfaction include:

• Expectations: Providing an opportunity for the patient to tell their story.

• Communication: patient satisfaction increased when members of the healthcare team took the problem seriously, explained information clearly, and tried to understand the patient’s experience, and provided viable options.

• Control: Patient satisfaction is improved when patients are encouraged to express their ideas, concerns and expectations.

• Decision-making: Patient satisfaction increased when the importance of their social and mental functioning as much as their physical functioning was acknowledged.

• Time spent: Patient satisfaction rates improved as the length of the healthcare visit increases.

• Clinical team: Although it is clear that the patient first concern is their clinician, they also value the team for which the clinician works.

• Referrals: Patient satisfaction increases when their healthcare team initiates referrals relieving the patient of this responsibility.

• Continuity of care: Patient satisfaction increases when they receive continuing care from the same healthcare provider(s).

• Dignity: As expected, patients who are treated with respect and who are invited to partner in their healthcare decisions report greater satisfaction.

 

7. Team Satisfaction: Why is team satisfaction important? Communication among healthcare team members influences the quality of working relationships, job satisfaction and profound impacts patient safety.

When communication about tasks and responsibilities are done well, research evidence has shown significant reduction in nurse turnover and improved job satisfaction because it facilitates a culture of mutual support.

What are the elements that contribute to healthcare team satisfaction: Feeling supported, e.g., administratively and inter-personally, respected, valued, understood, listened to, having a clear understanding of role, work equity and fair compensation.

8. Malpractice Risk. According to Huntington and Kuhn, the “root cause” of malpractice claims is a breakdown in communication between physician and patient. Previous research that examined plaintiff depositions found that 71% of the malpractice claims were initiated as a result of a physician-patient relationship problem. Closer inspection found that most litigious patients perceived their physician as uncaring. The same researchers found that one out of four plaintiffs in malpractice cases reported poor delivery of medical information, with 13% citing poor listening on the part of the physician.