Blogs

Tips for Clear Communication in Healthcare

Do you work for a healthcare organization in leadership, administration, or patient care?

Then this article is for you. It offers tips for communicating well with patients.

We’ll define healthcare communication and look at some examples. We’ll discuss what makes healthcare communication effective. We’ll talk about the impact of effective healthcare communication. Finally, we’ll discuss some strategies for communicating well with patients.

What is healthcare communication?

Let’s start by defining healthcare communication. Simply put, healthcare communication is an exchange of information between patients and healthcare workers. It can be verbal (oral and written communication) or nonverbal (body cues and design). And it occurs throughout the healthcare journey, from intake to discharge.

What are some examples of healthcare communication?

We’ve defined healthcare communication. Now let’s look at two examples of how communication is used during the healthcare journey.

The first example shows what happens when healthcare communication goes well.

When healthcare communication goes well: Paulo’s journey

Paulo has symptoms that concern him. So he calls his doctor’s office. A staff member helps him set up a visit for later in the week. The office’s computer system sends Paulo a reminder text.

On the day of the visit, a staff member gives Paulo some intake forms. She explains the forms, and Paulo fills them out.

During the visit, Paulo and his provider, Dr. Graff, discuss his symptoms. Dr. Graff does a physical exam. Then she gives Paulo paperwork for a blood test. She explains that the blood test will check for health problems.

After the blood test, a staff member calls Paulo to help him set up another visit with Dr. Graff.

At the next visit, Dr. Graff uses plain language to tell Paulo about his health problem. She uses a picture to show him what’s going on inside his body. Dr. Graff asks Paulo if he has any questions. Paulo asks a few questions, which the doctor answers clearly.

Dr. Graff and Paulo discuss treatment options. They agree that he will start by making some lifestyle changes to manage his blood sugar. Paulo leaves with a handout on type 2 diabetes, along with paperwork for another blood test.

As you can see, Paulo’s doctor and office staff communicate well with him. Staff provide support with intake forms and appointments. Meanwhile, Dr. Graff explains things clearly. She invites and answers Paulo’s questions. She also uses a picture and a handout for patient education.

The next example shows what happens when healthcare communication goes poorly.

When healthcare communication goes poorly: Theresa’s journey

Theresa has a bad stomach pain. She doesn’t know what’s causing it. After looking online, she’s worried it might be something serious.

Theresa’s primary care provider’s office isn’t open. However, she finds the website for an urgent care clinic. The clinic is open and seems to accept her health plan. So she goes to the clinic.

At the clinic, Theresa is given intake forms. She has trouble answering some of the questions, but she’s too shy to ask for help.

Soon, Theresa is called into an exam room. A nurse practitioner (NP) asks about her symptoms. He’s in a rush to get to his next patient, and he sounds impatient. Theresa tries to describe her pain, but she has trouble putting it into words.

The NP tells Theresa she’s probably just constipated, since that’s the most common cause of stomach pain. Theresa doesn’t want to take up any more of his time, so she doesn’t ask questions. She leaves the clinic without any tests or follow-up care.

In the middle of the night, Theresa’s stomach pain turns to agony. She calls 911, and an ambulance takes her to a hospital emergency department.

It turns out that Theresa has appendicitis, and she needs an appendectomy. A nurse tells her that she might have avoided surgery if she’d been put on IV antibiotics earlier.

After the surgery, Theresa faces a recovery period and a big hospital bill. Plus, to her surprise, the urgent care clinic doesn’t accept her health plan. So she must pay for her visit out of pocket.

The urgent care provider and staff don’t communicate well with Theresa. Staff don’t provide support with intake forms or discuss insurance with her. The NP and Theresa have a rushed, incomplete discussion of her symptoms. And the NP doesn’t invite questions. As a result, Theresa’s healthcare journey — and health outcome — go much worse than Paulo’s.

What is effective healthcare communication? 

We’ve looked at some examples of healthcare communication. Now let’s discuss what makes it effective.

Effective healthcare communication promotes health literacy    

Effective healthcare communication enables patients to “find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.” That’s according to Healthy People 2030, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Effective healthcare communication is a health literacy universal precaution

Effective healthcare communication helps all of us. It’s a health literacy universal precaution.

Why? Health information is complex. Many patients have trouble finding, understanding, and using health information. Even strong health literacy skills can falter at times of stress — such as a health crisis. And you can’t always tell when someone has trouble.

Therefore, as a healthcare worker, strive to communicate as well as possible every time, with every patient.

What is the impact of effective healthcare communication?

We’ve looked at what makes healthcare communication effective. Now let’s discuss why it’s so important.

Better patient self-management = better health outcomes

Effective healthcare communication helps patients take better care of their health. For instance, clear labeling helps patients correctly measure their medicine doses. Better self-management, in turn, improves health outcomes, such as lowering the rate of deaths caused by heart problems.

Better use of healthcare services = more efficient, less costly healthcare

At the same time, effective healthcare communication improves use of healthcare services. That is, it increases use of preventive care (such as getting flu shots), while decreasing avoidable hospitalizations and use of emergency care. This makes healthcare more efficient and less costly.

Higher patient satisfaction

Effective healthcare communication also boosts patient satisfaction. That is, it leads to higher scores on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS).

Higher rewards for healthcare providers and organizations  

Value-based programs (such as Medicare) reward healthcare providers and organizations for scoring well on such measures as health outcomes, patient safety, patient experience, efficiency, and cost. Better scores mean higher rewards.

Fewer legal problems for healthcare providers and organizations

Finally, healthcare providers and organizations that use effective communication are less likely to face legal problems, such as malpractice claims.

What are some strategies for effective healthcare communication?

We’ve looked at why effective healthcare communication is so important. Now let’s discuss some strategies for communicating well with patients.

Tips for healthcare organization leaders

Here are some ways for leaders of healthcare organizations to promote effective communication.

Make good communication a priority

Clear communication should be a core part of your organization’s mission, structure, and operations. It should also be part of planning, evaluation, patient safety, and quality improvement efforts. Set policies and procedures that promote good communication.

Provide training

Devote time and money to train patient-facing workers in why and how to communicate well with patients.

Likewise, offer training for patients. For instance, teach them how to sign up for and use the patient portal.

Make the space inclusive and welcoming

Ensure that all written materials, signs, and decorations reflect the diversity of your patient population. For instance, intake forms should let patients identify their gender identity as well as their sex assigned at birth.

Choose written materials that are easy to understand and use

Ensure that intake forms, handouts, patient portals, and other written materials use simple, everyday words, as well as short sentences and paragraphs. They should also use a clean, legible design with lists, headings, and subheadings.

Get input from patients

Get input from patients about your organization’s health information and services. That’s the best way to ensure they’re effective. You may want to have a patient advisory board.

Tips for all workers who interact with patients

Here are some communication tips for all patient-facing workers, including front-desk staff and providers.

Build rapport

Communication goes better when you build rapport with patients. Here’s how.

• Be kind and friendly. Consider the patient’s thoughts and feelings. Speak in a warm tone of voice. Also, smile and make eye contact (if appropriate).

• Treat patients with respect. Honor the patient’s dignity as a human being. Avoid making assumptions. Instead, treat each patient as an individual with unique needs.

• Encourage questions. Invite the patient to ask questions. Say something like: “What questions do you have for me today?”

• Be a good listener. When the patient speaks, pay attention, and don’t interrupt.

Support the patient’s communication needs

Meet the communication needs of patients who don’t speak, read, or write English very well (patients with limited English proficiency). For instance, they may need a healthcare interpreter (someone trained to convert health information from one language into another). They may also need materials written in their language.

Also support the communication needs of patients with disabilities and other challenges. For instance, patients who have trouble hearing may communicate best with written materials. If they use spoken communication, they may need a quiet setting and a sign language interpreter.

Tips for front-desk staff

Here are some communication tips for front-desk staff.

Offer support

Make the healthcare journey as easy as possible. For instance, offer to help patients make appointments, fill out forms, and sign up for and use the patient portal.

Explain coverage and costs

Tell patients clearly what their health plan covers and what they will need to pay for.

Tips for providers

Here are some communication tips for providers.

Be clear

When you talk to patients, be as clear as possible. Here’s how.

• Introduce and summarize. Start by stating what you’ll be covering during the visit. Close with a summary of key points.

• Use simple, everyday words. Avoid using unusual words, medical jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations. For instance, instead of saying “hyperglycemia,” say “high blood sugar.” If you must use a challenging word, tell the patient what it means. This is called using plain language.

• Keep it short. Focus on the key things you want patients to know.

• Organize information. Put information in a logical order, starting with the most important points.

• Give action steps. Tell the patient clearly what you want them to do.

• Take your time. Speak slowly enough for the patient to follow you. Pause as needed.

• Use examples and stories. Use examples and stories to explain tough concepts and engage patients.
  
  

Support the patient’s communication preferences

Patients tend to learn better when you share information in several ways (not just talking). So offer patients a few options. You can offer:

• Written materials, such as handouts, websites, and notes. 

• Visual aids, such as videos, pictures, and models. 

• Demonstrations, such as showing how to use an inhaler.  
  
  

Then ask patients which options they prefer. For instance, a patient who is newly diagnosed with diabetes may want a brochure on nutrition and a video on how to check their blood sugar.

Use teach-back to check for understanding

Near the end of each visit, use teach-back to go over key health information, like how to use an inhaler. Teach-back helps you make sure you communicated clearly. It’s a test of you — not your patient.

Teach-back has three steps:

1. Explain the health information clearly. 

2. Check for understanding. Ask the patient to tell or show you what you said. For instance, you might say: “Using an inhaler has a few steps. I want to make sure I explained them clearly. Can you tell or show me what you’ll do first?”

3. Explain the health information more clearly, if needed.

Use shared decisionmaking to choose treatment

When it’s time to make a treatment decision, work with the patient. This process is called shared decisionmaking.

Shared decisionmaking has five steps:

1. Seek your patient’s participation.

2. Help your patient explore and compare treatment options.

3. Assess your patient’s values and preferences.

4. Reach a decision with your patient.

5. Evaluate your patient’s decision.
   
   

Summary

We just went over some tips for communicating well with patients. Here’s a quick recap.

Meaning of healthcare communication

Healthcare communication:

• Is an exchange of information between patients and healthcare workers. 
• Can be verbal or nonverbal. 
•  Occurs throughout the healthcare journey.
  
  

Examples of healthcare communication

We looked at two examples of how communication is used during the healthcare journey.

Meaning of effective healthcare communication

Effective healthcare communication promotes health literacy. It’s a universal health literacy precaution.

Impact of effective healthcare communication

• Better patient self-management, which leads to better health outcomes. 

• Better use of healthcare services, which leads to more efficient, less costly healthcare. 

• Higher patient satisfaction.

• Higher rewards for healthcare providers and organizations. 

• Fewer legal problems for healthcare providers and organizations.

Strategies for effective healthcare communication

Tips for healthcare organization leaders

• Make good communication a priority.

• Provide training. 

• Make the space inclusive and welcoming.

• Choose written materials that are easy to understand and use.

• Get input from patients. 
  
  

Tips for all workers who interact with patients

• Build rapport.

o   Be kind and friendly.

o   Treat patients with respect.

o   Encourage questions.

o   Be a good listener.

• Support the patient’s communication needs.
  
  

Tips for front-desk staff

• Offer support.

• Explain coverage and costs.
  
  

Tips for providers

• Be clear.

o   Introduce and summarize.

o   Use simple, everyday words.

o   Keep it short.

o   Organize information.

o   Give action steps.

o   Take your time.

o   Use examples and stories.

• Support the patient’s communication preferences.

• Use teach-back to check for understanding.

• Use shared decision-making to choose treatment.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Carolyn Cutilli and Sophia Wong, for their invaluable peer review and expert feedback, which significantly contributed to the enhancement of this article.

Related Content

#IHAArticle

#Communication