Perhaps the most fundamental principle of “patient-centered care” is for clinicians to understand the patient’s perspective regarding key aspects of a care episode. Here’s a real life example that just happened to my wife and I...
Patient Trust
We Stop Being A “Person” And Become A “Patient” When We Walk Into The Exam Room At The Doctor’s Office
We all play many roles in life .... spouse, employee, sibling, parent, friend, customer, and so on. Each of these roles brings with it its' own unique set of expectations (self-imposed as well as externally imposed - can you say spouse) for how we are supposed to...
It’s Time To Stop Blaming The Patient And Fix The Real Problem – Poor Physician-Patient Communications
Yet another in a seemingly endless series of articles blaming patients for all that’s wrong in health care is running in Modern Healthcare. The 3-part series entitled Channeling Choice looks at how patients (people like you and I) just aren’t making the kinds of...
Three Reasons Why Doctors Need To Spend More Time Talking and Listening To Their Patients
Since most physicians probably will not be able to get beyond the first couple of lines of this post without yelling at the monitor...I will get to the 3 reasons…and if you stick with me …I’ll present my case for why they are so important. Your visits will be more...
Looking For A Way To Engage Patients In Behavior Change? Try “Storytelling”
My wife had just finished meeting with her medical oncologist for her bi-annual check-up at MD Anderson’s Thoracic Clinic. We were sitting in an area called “the Park” rehashing what her doctor had said when a mother and her daughter sat down at our table. There...