Doctors: It ’ s Not What You Say, But How You Say It

Most physicians will be thrust into the role of patient or caregiver at some point during their careers. Unfortunately, it’s not until this occurs that many become fully aware of the finer points of excellent care and communication. Take for example, the simple act of reporting test results to a patient. We do this every day, but may not realize that how we frame the information is as important as the data themselves. I came to realize this on a recent hospital visit when I was in the role of healthcare proxy for a loved one with heart disease. Not only did various physicians present information with different degrees of optimism, but individual doctors presented things differently on different days… depending on (I guess) how tired/hurried they were. Consider these different messages with the same ejection fraction (EF – a measure of heart pump strength) and angiogram (heart vessel imaging) test results: Doctor 1: “I wish I had better news. The EF is lower than we thought. It is low because of your previous massive heart attack.” Doctor 2: “Although your EF is impaired, there’s a lot that can be done to improve pump function with medications.” Doctor 1 (different day): “On the other hand, the EF might be temporarily low because of your recent flu infection. It’s possible it will bounce back in a couple of months and you’ll be back to your usual self.” Doctor 2: “I’m not worried about your che...
Source: Better Health - Category: American Health Authors: Tags: True Stories Cardiac Electrophysiologist CHF Ejection fraction Heart Disease How To Relay Information What Does It Mean? Cardiologist Source Type: blogs