Within your medical practice it is natural that you always wish your patients well. It is the goal of the job and for that you received extensive training at the university. In addition, the reinforcement of knowledge is necessary to know the different novelties that appear. But it must also be recognized that a favorable outcome cannot be achieved with everyone. Therefore, one of your obligations is to inform about the possible risks that exist around a treatment.
Communication between doctors and patients must be constant. There must be sufficient security between the two to be able to speak directly in any situation. To achieve this, you can put into practice the following recommendations within the consulting room.
Use language that patients can understand
First the most important thing is to avoid being one of those doctors who talk and are not understood. That is why you must use clear language and without technicalities. In this case you should make a brief description of the disease, the symptoms and indicate the possible risks involved.
You must be clear that patients are not health experts and do not know all the terminology that you do. For the same reason, if you are going to use complex or specialized words, explain the meaning of each one or otherwise you will cause more questions than answers.
Be direct and blunt
In case a treatment is risky, you should not hide it. Talk directly to your patients but don’t be rude with your words either. Maintain a friendly tone of voice and offer your support at all times. If there are other options, you can also mention them and you should keep in touch with the relatives of the person you are serving.
Use the support of technology
At present, to inform about the risks of a treatment you can rely on digital tools. These days there are mobile applications with 3D figures where you can show the impacted area and explain how it reacts to medications. In this way the patient can see more clearly where the problem is.
Don’t let the patient leave the office with questions
Always and obligatorily, you must solve all the doubts of the patient within the office. If necessary, offer a double explanation and try to use examples to help you get a clearer explanation. Repeat at least a couple of times if you have questions and answer each one on the spot.