Dr. William J. Mayo, one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic, once said, “The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered.” *Today, that saying still holds true.
 
While talking to your patients may sound like a simple enough task, with today’s demanding schedules, you are seeing more patients in shorter amounts of time, and in-depth discussions often do not occur. Yet effective patient-provider communication is an integral part of ensuring that patients receive the care they need. The more you talk with your patients, the more likely they are to understand their conditions and adhere to your treatment plan.
 
Since many patients have questions about their health or treatment plan but may not be comfortable asking questions, consider asking open-ended questions like, “What do you think is causing your symptoms?”
 
Moreover, according to an article published in Physicians News Digest in February 2001, you should assume that all of your patients have the following questions, whether or not they ask them:

• What has happened to me?
• Why has this happened to me?
• What will be done to me?
• Why will they do this rather than that?
• Will it hurt?
• When will you have the answers/test results?
• When will I have the results?

When patients enter your office, they already may be feeling anxious about their condition or impending results. It is therefore important to make them active participants in their health care by engaging them in conversation, showing empathy, educating them and, ultimately, gaining their cooperation and compliance with your mutually determined plan of care.

* From the Mayo Clinic