How does Provider-Patient Communication influence patient outcome?

 

 

Communication Question: How communication between healthcare providers and their patients influences patients’ health outcomes?

Introduction

In clinical practice, provider-patient communication is a fundamental part of care delivery. When this communication is done effectively, it provides therapeutic effects for patients leading to improved health outcomes. The way a physician conveys information to patients holds equal importance as the message being communicated. In this context, patients who understand the information being communicated by the health provider have a higher likelihood of acknowledging their health problems, expressing their feelings, understanding available treatment and health management options and in turn, change their behaviors accordingly and adhere to the set medication schedule. According to Vermeir et al., (2015), the findings from recent studies have demonstrated that with effective communication between patients and physicians, patients’ health can improve substantially. Without a doubt, working in the clinical field can be considered as challenging as healthcare providers are required to attend to a diverse patient population with varying communication needs. It has been established that building trust is an integral part of developing effective provider-patient communication. There is a common perception that healthcare professional ought to possess effective communication skills rather than the patients however, in healthcare communication are a two-way process. Thus, healthcare providers should recognize the need for effective communication in achieving an improved patient outcome. The drive for selecting this topic was to explore the extent to which communication between healthcare providers and their patients influence patients’ health outcomes.

Background and Problem Statement

Communication Statement: Providers should build an interpersonal relationship with Patients.

In recent years, the changing trends in contemporary society such as the advancement of medical care and increased accessibility to clinical data have made the relationship between healthcare providers and their patients more challenging. Traditionally, providers were generally considered as a vessel of medical knowledge, competence, and skills, which was used in the provision of care services and health management. However, in today’s healthcare setting, things have changed rather drastically with the dominance of patient-centered care, which required the active participation of patients in their care as well (Ranjan, Kumari & Chakrawarty, 2015). Medical knowledge has therefore become a shared role between providers and patients and therefore care delivery is customised to meet the ever-changing needs of the patients. Most healthcare providers however tend to experience difficulties while trying to build interpersonal relationships with their patients while remaining professional. It is worth noting that in managing patients, the provision of safe and high-quality care requires a healthy relationship between providers and patients (DuPre, 2014). In building healthy relationships, communication and trust are among the necessary factors that are needed. Effective communication is considered as the main ingredient in succeeding in every professional field and clinical practice is not an exception. High-quality interactions between patients have a positive correlation to patient outcomes (Johnson, Quinlan & Marsh, 2018).  To begin with, it encourages patients to work collaboratively with providers in identifying their health needs, treatment options, and adopting behavioral changes for the management of their well-being. With improved health outcomes, this, therefore, allows patients to experience an improved quality of life. As posited by Ward (2018) a great healthcare provider is the one that focuses on the patient while designing an intervention approach rather than solely prioritizing the disease. Focusing on the needs of the patients helps in promoting collaboration, encouraging participation, and building positive interactions, which lead to better patient outcomes. Therefore, this creates the need to investigate the effects of provider-patient communication on the health outcomes of the patients.

Literature Review/Research Evidence

The value of communicating with patients is immeasurable. From sourcing patients’ medical information to sharing the treatment plan, physician-patient relationship with their patients is normally founded on effective communication. Ward (2018) investigated the need for building interpersonal relationships with patients and their impact on trust. The findings of the investigation concluded that interpersonal communication and trust have a positive correlation when it comes it patient satisfaction, health outcomes, and the expected quality of healthcare services about reduced medication errors and policy compliance. Olaisen et al., (2020) supported the notion citing that besides the communication skillfulness that is possessed by the physician, the degree of interpersonal competence and knowledge regarding patients’ communication needs helps in building trust-based relations which lead to improved patient outcomes. In this context, patient-centered communication refers to having a two-way dialogue with the use of open-ended questions to boost the communication process. In this case, building interpersonal relationships with patients requires physicians to focus on adopting collaborative decision making, which leads to improved management, and this, in turn, boosts the chances for complying with the set treatment approaches. The evidence from the scholars therefore demonstrated that patient-centered measure alongside the use of effective communication and trust-building results in better health management and increased patient satisfaction. As a result of collaborative interactions, interpersonal relationships with patients are achieved and this is associated with high quality of healthcare services and improved outcomes.

Healthcare professionals often debate about the best approaches for achieving effective communication and the effectiveness of the strategies in being adopted and assessed objectively. In today’s medical practice, patient-centered care is encouraged given that it leads to improved health outcomes. The objective is to ensure that the health needs of the patients are captured successfully without fail. As noted by Chichirez & Purcărea (2018) without a doubt every physician should develop a unique style of communicating with patients given that there is no one approach that is fit for all healthcare settings. Therefore, in developing interpersonal relationships besides open communication and honesty physicians should also ensure that they retain a positive outlook, provide feedback, listen actively, respect the views and beliefs of the patients and maintain boundaries. Kornhaber, Walsh, Duff & Walker (2016) emphasized that patients are more likely to be expressive of their health needs and feelings only when the physician proves to be welcoming and respective to their rather diverse needs in general. However, Lee & Doran (2017) counters this argument citing that in building interpersonal relationships cultural competence is a necessity given that it allows them to acknowledge the communication needs of each patient while remaining respectful to their differences. The argument hence confirms that interpersonal communication is a complex process that requires physicians to apply a range of skills while mainly focusing on providing patient-centered care.

Fuertes, Toporovsky, Reyes & Osborne (2017) argued that with effective communication skills physicians can build interpersonal relationships with their patients and in turn achieve positive patient outcomes and increased satisfaction levels. Unlike before physicians are required to listen and respond respectively to their patients. In that, while enquiring about the health issues they should be allowed to also ask questions without judgment. As also established by Hoff & Collinson (2017)rapport building can be extremely beneficial to physicians as it helps in creating effective interpersonal relationships which can in return help in building trust. Rapport building leads to harmonious and close relationships with patients and also allows physicians to understand the feelings of their patients while communicating efficiently. In this case, interpersonal relationships do not only result from the ability to maintain open communication but also by ensuring that physicians show empathy to patients. It is hard being a patient and therefore empathy helps in ensuring that physicians understand what they are going through. In this context, this allows them to offer more personalized care. An empathetic physician acts and communicates based on the understanding that they acquire for the patients.

Most studies have established that patient satisfaction has a positive correlation with effective communication skills. Carrard et al., (2018) investigated the association between the communication behavior held by the physicians and the satisfaction of patients with the provided care. the findings of the study found that positive communication behaviors usually supports an increase in patient satisfaction, which eventually leads to improved health outcomes. Therefore, the authors concluded that interpersonal based communication is vital in not only ensuring that physicians deliver high-quality care services but also enables patients to trust the physician's clinical judgment. With this, it is, therefore, possible to provide patient-centered care by only focusing on the health needs of the patients through effective communication. Berman & Chutka (2016) supported the findings based on the establishment that patient satisfaction is normally fueled by trust, which is a crucial indicator in understanding the quality of clinical services, and this leads to improved outcomes in general. The scholars similar to most others have demonstrated a robust correlation between care services and satisfaction level. Thus, it is evident that improved patient satisfaction leads to increased rates in adherence to the treatment practices and standards which is associated with improved medical outcomes. In other words, interpersonal relationship leads to quality care and patient safety as physicians can adhere to all the existing protocols and policies. Ranjan, Kumari & Chakrawarty (2015) established that interpersonal relationship has been shown to result in reduced medical error cases in general and this, therefore, contribute to patient safety and improved outcomes. However, this cannot be achieved in the case that the physician is poor in communication since interpersonal relations rely on better communication with patients.

Physicians need to build interpersonal relationships with their patients for better health outcomes and efficiency. Therefore communication requires that physicians should mainly focus on building trust. In a physician-patient relationship, trust has several advantages like avoiding conflict and encouraging patients to relate well with physicians it also helps in discouraging low-quality performance. According to DuPre (2014) patients’ needs to be given something for them to gain trust and this is effective communication. When they are aware that their needs are well recognized and valued they tend to respond more positively. In general, there is a need for physicians to focus on building quality relationships with patients for better outcomes by focusing on delivering quality care and safety (Johnson, Quinlan & Marsh, 2018). Patient-centered care is founded on effective communication and interpersonal relationships.

Communication Recommendations /Conclusions

Communication scholarship hopes to change how physicians interact with patients for better patient outcomes. Physicians play a critical role in determining the safety of patients and the quality of services that they provide. Traditionally, physicians have always retained the role of being the primary decision-makers, while patients act as recipients. However, scholars have proposed that today in building interpersonal physicians are not only required to talk but to also listen to the needs and requests of their patients. It is only through this that they can understand how they feel and therefore make an accurate decision on health management as well as a treatment plan. Therefore, interpersonal based communication generally enables physicians and patients to interact positively while focusing on improving health outcomes. Also, interpersonal communication not only helps in relationships but also eliminates errors leading to treatment effectiveness and success.

Most physicians tend to struggle when it comes to trying to create a balance between the power they possess based on their medical knowledge and the need to pay attention to the communication needs of their patients is critical. In this case, scholars propose that physicians should be willing to design their communication strategies that align with the needs of the population they serve. In this context, they advocate that it is crucial to minimize the overall use of power and control to ensure that patients are treated in an empathetic manner in which their needs are respected and therefore encouraged to actively participate in the care delivery. Patient-centered care urges physicians to ensure that while the health needs of the patients are at the center of guiding their clinical decisions, it should also include collaborative practice. Patients should be treated as primary stakeholders in care delivery given that the decisions made by physicians affect them either directly or indirectly and therefore their contribution is not only crucial but necessary as well. Therefore, they ought to be considered as partners to increase the satisfaction rate while also ensuring that the desired outcomes are achieved.

Scholars additionally hold that it is through building interpersonal relationships that patient safety is improved. Thus, this can best be achieved by ensuring that physicians develop their communication skills constantly. The effectiveness of building interpersonal relationships lies in the ability to retain efficient communication. It normally entails the ability to listen to the needs of the patients and respond appropriately while paying attention to the beliefs, feelings, attitudes, and views of the patient. Communication and cultural competence are a necessity since with diversity the communication needs of each patient tend to differ significantly hence requiring physicians to employ personalized strategies in providing care.

In summing up, based on the evaluation it has been established that physicians need to build interpersonal relationships with patients for improved outcomes and satisfaction. It is only by focusing on the well-being of the patients that trust is built which allows patients to express how they feel thus enabling physicians to make accurate clinical decisions. In other words, care needs to be personalized for patients to benefit fully and ease their role. Patient-centered care is the one that normally emphasizes the collaboration between doctors and patients which equates to interpersonal relationships. In return, this leads to improved care services and patient safety as the mediums for better health outcomes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Berman, A. C., & Chutka, D. S. (2016). Assessing effective physician-patient communication skills:“Are you listening to me, doc?”. Korean journal of medical education, 28(2), 243.

Carrard, V., Schmid Mast, M., Jaunin-Stalder, N., Junod Perron, N., & Sommer, J. (2018). Patient-centeredness as physician behavioral adaptability to patient preferences. Health communication, 33(5), 593-600.

Chichirez, C. M., & Purcărea, V. L. (2018). Interpersonal communication in healthcare. Journal of medicine and life, 11(2), 119–122.

DuPre,A. (2014). Chapter 3: Patient-caregiver communication. In Communicating about health: Current issues and perspectives (4thed.) (pp.50-78). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Fuertes, J. N., Toporovsky, A., Reyes, M., & Osborne, J. B. (2017). The physician-patient working alliance: Theory, research, and future possibilities. Patient education and counseling, 100(4), 610-615.

Hoff, T., & Collinson, G. E. (2017). How do we talk about the physician–patient relationship? What the nonempirical literature tells us. Medical Care Research and Review, 74(3), 251-285.

Johnson, B., Quinlan, M. M.,& Marsh, J. S. (2018). Telenursing and nurse-patient communication within Fertility, Inc. Journal of Holistic Nursing,36, 38-53.doi: 10.1177/0898010116685468

Kornhaber, R., Walsh, K., Duff, J., & Walker, K. (2016). Enhancing adult therapeutic interpersonal relationships in the acute health care setting: An integrative review. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 9, 537.

Lee, C. T. S., & Doran, D. M. (2017). The role of interpersonal relations in healthcare team communication and patient safety: a proposed model of interpersonal process in teamwork. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 49(2), 75-93.

Olaisen, R. H., Schluchter, M. D., Flocke, S. A., Smyth, K. A., Koroukian, S. M., & Stange, K. C. (2020). Assessing the Longitudinal Impact of Physician-Patient Relationship on Functional Health. The Annals of Family Medicine, 18(5), 422-429.

Ranjan, P., Kumari, A., & Chakrawarty, A. (2015). How can Doctors Improve their Communication Skills?. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR, 9(3), JE01–JE4. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2015/12072.5712

Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., Hallaert, G., Van Daele, S., Buylaert, W., & Vogelaers, D. (2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical practice, 69(11), 1257–1267. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcp.12686

Ward, P. (2018). Trust and communication in a doctor-patient relationship: a literature review. Arch Med, 3(3), 36.