![ABC of Clinical Communication](https://img.perlego.com/book-covers/993704/9781119247005_300_450.webp)
ABC of Clinical Communication
Nicola Cooper, John Frain, Nicola Cooper, John Frain
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
ABC of Clinical Communication
Nicola Cooper, John Frain, Nicola Cooper, John Frain
About This Book
Clinical communication underpins safe patient care. The effective health professional sees illness through the patient's eyes and understands what matters most to him or her. Effectiveness means gathering hard clinical data about the physical changes affecting the patient, understanding why the patient is concerned, conveying this to other health care professionals and involving the patient at every stage of management decisions.
The evidence for good clinical communication is well established, although there are challenges. While listening is the basis of sound diagnosis and clinical reasoning, its absence affects patient outcomes particularly when patients are not permitted to make their concerns known or when there are gaps in information flow or communication between the professionals caring for them.
The ABC of Clinical Communication considers the evidence pertinent to individual encounters between patients and their health professionals, how to achieve efficient flow of information, the function of clinical teams and developing a teaching programme. Topics covered include:
- The consultation
- Clinical communication and personality type
- Shared decision making
- Communication in clinical teams
- Communication in medical records
- Communication in specific situations, including mental health and end of life
- Teaching clinical communication
The chapter authors are clinicians involved in communicating with patients, research and training healthcare professionals of the future. This team reflects the multidisciplinary approach required to develop effective clinical communication.
Frequently asked questions
Information
CHAPTER 1
Why Clinical Communication Matters
OVERVIEW
- The clinical interview is essential in collecting information about a patient and reducing diagnostic error.
- There is an evidence base for the skills that best facilitate collection of both the biomedical and psychosocial content of the patientâs story.
- Good clinical communication underpins patientâcentred care.
- Health professionals require continuing training in clinical communication in all its forms.
- Efficient information flow within the healthcare team is an essential component of patient safety.
- Respect for patients and colleagues is a prerequisite for effective clinical communication.
Clinical communication â a historical perspective
![Illustration of evolution of the doctorâpatient relationship illustrated by a downward arrow from healer/doctor-dominated in ancient Egypt to continuing research into patient-centredness in present day.](https://book-extracts.perlego.com/993704/images/c01f001-plgo-compressed.webp)
Box 1.1 The traditional model of a structured patient history
- Demographics
- Presenting problem(s)
- History of presenting problem(s)
- Past medical history
- Systems enquiry
- Family history
- Medications and allergies
- Social history
- Correctly diagnose the patientâs illness.
- Avoid diagnostic error.
- Give the patient effective and appropriate treatment.
- Achieve the patientâs adherence to treatment.
- Cure or mitigate the effect of the illness.
- Improve the patientâs health status.
- Communicate care, concern and empathy.
Box 1.2 Clinical hypocompetence in the medical interview
- Lack of therapeutic intent
- Inattention to primary data (symptoms)
- A high control style
- An incomplete database usually omitting patientâcentred data and active problems other than the present illness
- A thoughtless interview in which the physician fails to formulate needed working hypotheses