Communication Can Make All the Difference in Patient-centered Care

Communication is one of the most important components to everyday life. The same is true in a medical setting.

Patient-centered care ensures you get the information you need to make better decisions about your health. In patient-centered care, the goal is for healthcare providers to work alongside families and patients to identify and meet all of the needs of the patient while meeting all of the professional requirements of the medical staff.

Understanding Patient-centered Care According to the Institute of Medicine, this type of care is defined as "Providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions".

Patient engagement, as it is sometimes called, is the standard for care because it ensures your needs are understood and met when you are facing medical requirements.

In order to provide high-quality care like this, it is essential for good communication to be in place throughout the patient's experience with doctors and other medical staff during his or her hospital stay.

There are many ways in which patient-centered care becomes possible when good communication is present. Here are some examples.

Educating patients on their diagnosis is essential. It's not good enough to simply provide information. It's also important for you to ask questions and for our team to answer them thoroughly.

It is essential for both the doctor and patient to work together to discuss not just ailments but also healthy behavior. This means engaging patients with information and resources when they may need to begin addressing factors such as weight loss, smoking, or lifestyle choices that may be dangerous to them in the long term.

Good communication means opening up conversations about treatments options. It is a good idea to learn about potential solutions and be willing to ask questions regarding those options.

In this type of care and communication, it is important for doctors, nurses and other medical providers to also take into consideration the patient's cultural traditions, family situations, values, and social circumstances. In other words, we want to be able to help the patient to meet his or her needs and continue to live life the way he or she desires but with the medical care the patient needs.

There are many ways patients and doctors can come together to open conversations up to discuss specific needs and results. Sometimes, this type of communication leads to difficult topics and conversations.

However, when communication is possible and it is engaged on both sides of the coin, it is possible for better medical decisions to be made for everyone involved.