Help transform outcomes with 4 patient provider communication strategies

The truth is that patient provider communication is the foundation for everything else; without it, healthcare might never get off the ground.

That’s why it’s crucial to put ample time, resources and energy toward improving communication skills across your practice. You’ll quickly see the benefits — not just in relationships, but in efficiency, productivity, patient outcomes and more.

Here are a few key strategies to help you get there.

The What and Why of Patient Provider Communication

To empower and ensure effective communication at every turn, it’s important to remind yourself what exactly you’re dealing with. Let’s take a look at the basics of patient provider communication:

The What

Patient provider communication is the mutual exchange of information between you and your patients — a two-way street that benefits both parties when structured effectively. It’s often helpful to think of this as a relationship between experts from separate fields:

●  You: A healthcare provider or organization with years of technical, scientific and medical knowledge that may sound like a foreign language to others.

●   Your patients: Professionals in their own experiences, feelings and needs, which no one else can fully capture or explain.

The goal is to bridge these knowledge gaps and create a middle ground where each expert understands the other.

This kind of communication happens in various forms and formats, from face-to-face conversations in the exam room to phone calls, patient portal messages and written notes. Although the rules and necessary skills shift depending on the context, one thing remains consistent: poor communication may negatively impact patient outcomes, while good communication is the foundation for success.

The Why

Improving health communication is always worthwhile for both parties:

Providers 

When you understand your patients better, your teams will have an easier time getting the information they need, enabling more effective decision-making and maximized efficiency. This, in turn, leads to:

●      Improved patient satisfaction.

●      Easier compliance and risk management.

●      More accurate resource allocation.

●      Better-quality patient data.

●      A healthier bottom line.

●      More favorable reviews, ratings and reputation.

There are also plenty of benefits for healthcare worker engagement, enabling your teams to improve both personal and professional communication skills and interact more effectively with future patients.

Patients

When your patients understand you better, they’ll be better positioned to connect with the healthcare experience and help improve their well-being. Patient communication improvements may help them face fewer obstacles to therapeutic compliance and medication adherence, which in turn may  lead to better outcomes and lower readmission rates, thanks to higher health literacy. Plus, when patients feel more comfortable, they’re often more likely to provide helpful feedback that can be used to tailor their treatment plan or encourage regular care.

Common Challenges in Patient-Provider Communication

It’s no secret that, despite its exceptional promise, effective patient communication can be challenging. What’s standing in the way of easy, simple information exchanges? Here are just a few possibilities:

Health Literacy

Health literacy is a rising trend in the medical space, especially as care teams realize that it’s an ongoing obstacle to patient engagement. In fact, 76% of providers¹ reported at least one issue caused by patients’ difficulty understanding health information. To make matters worse, 31% of providers had trouble recognizing patients struggling in this area. 

Patients themselves, meanwhile, often don’t realize there’s a knowledge gap until their appointment is over, at which point they may turn to online research or their own “guesses” instead of reaching out to a physician. This may be based on beliefs that asking for help is uncomfortable or inconvenient — or it might be because they assume their own misinterpretations are correct because they lack the health literacy to notice issues.

Professionalism

A lack of professionalism in patient care can lead to poor communication. Physician-specific examples include:

●      Ignoring patient questions or dismissing concerns.

●      Lacking empathy, patience and emotional intelligence in conversation.

●      Creating fear and anxiety.

●      Rushing through exams. 

Of course, unprofessional behavior can happen at any level and may impact patients in different ways. Regardless, this can create issues for the whole care team.

Interpersonal Communication Skills 

Patients and providers come to the table with varying interpersonal communication skills. On top of that, each individual has their own communication style. That means both parties may have different experiences and expectations regarding active listening, conflict resolution, nonverbal communication and more — and that means there can be challenges on both sides. For example:

Providers 

Physicians and other members of the care team may feel a sense of superiority — and while it’s true that they have more medical knowledge than patients, this can come across as arrogance or condescension. These experts may also be more focused on facts and priorities, forgetting to consider the patient’s often more feelings-based perspective, and may not even realize their interpersonal skills are lacking because they attribute communication issues to the patient.

Patients

Patients may come to appointments in some level of distress, and stress management (or lack thereof) can impact their ability to communicate effectively. They may also have some level of distrust toward clinicians or a misunderstanding of the expert’s role, causing them to struggle with interpersonal communication skills like patience, assertiveness and empathy. 

Cultural Differences

Cultural differences play a huge role in all human services contexts, but they can be especially challenging in a health care setting. These can include:

●      Unusual or unfamiliar patient expectations.

●      Limited trust in doctors or the health care system overall.

●      Disparities in communication style, preference or expectation.

●      Varying health and well-being needs.

If a provider doesn’t understand or account for these cultural differences, health communication can suffer at every touchpoint.

Availability 

If patients feel that it’s too difficult or time-consuming to get their provider’s attention, they may not even attempt it. However, the same is true for providers: If patients aren’t frequently available, it can be difficult to properly communicate a treatment plan.

Technological User-Friendliness

Many health organizations offer some kind of patient portal or other technological communication solution — but unfortunately, these tend to be difficult to navigate for both patients and providers. This can lead to information being misinterpreted, misplaced or simply never communicated because there’s no foundation for effective data sharing.

Common Challenges in Patient Provider Communication