The past few blogs have focused on employees and patients but doctors also play a big role in retaining patients. When a patient makes contact with a practice is it usually an employee that they meet. The employees can be the highly engaged, but if the doctor is not productive, it counteracts this effect.

Some patients are unable to connect with their healthcare provider for many reasons, which include feeling unsatisfied with rushed/unclear explanations and difficulty communicating with the doctor.

Communication between physicians and patients is vital for a strong patient-physician relationship. The way a physician connects with his patient determines the way a patient will respond. The first step in to bridging the gap with patients is to build patient trust.

Three ways to ensure patient trust are:

1. Be effective in communicating.
2. Share information with patients.
3. Listen to your patients.

Once a doctor has built patient trust, he or she must get to the heart of effective patient communication, which includes:

1. Paying attention to non-verbal language.
2. Restraining from speaking in medical jargon.
3. Being honest.

The blog Mind The Gap gives valuable information on what makes a productive physician:

1. Makes the patient comfortable from the start
2. Connects with the patient
3. Focuses on patient’s agenda
4. Recaps patient’s history
5. Focused on explaining and teaching the patient
6. Makes sure that the patient understands
7. Provides after-visit summary for patient

There is a general misconception that doctors are not paid to communicate with their patients so they do not have to. However, communication if vital when diagnosing illnesses and discussing important topics such as surgery options. It is important that a patient understands what is being said. Communication is also vital to the strengthening of the doctor-patient relationship.

If you are struggling with communicating with patients effectively, contact Mindstream Creative for help.