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Doctor-patient communication: an overview

12 December 2022

(doctor-patient relationship)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096184/.

"Effective doctor-patient communication is a central clinical function in building the therapeutic doctor-patient relationship, which is the heart and art of medicine. It is important in the delivery of quality healthcare. Much patient dissatisfaction and many complaints stem from the breakdown of this relationship. However, many doctors tend to overestimate their communication skills. We review the literature on doctor-patient communication in this article."

description abstract

Most complaints about doctors relate to issues of communication rather than clinical competence. Patients need doctors who can skillfully diagnose and treat their illnesses and communicate effectively with them. Doctors with better communication and interpersonal skills are able to detect problems earlier, can prevent medical crises and costly interventions and provide better support to their patients. This can lead to better outcomes and satisfaction, lower costs of care, better patient understanding of health problems and better adherence to treatment. A greater commitment to collaborative decision-making is now expected, with doctors and patients participating as partners in achieving agreed goals and improving quality of life."