The Foundations of an Excellent Patient-Doctor Relationship
Evidence reveals that if navigated successfully, great doctor-patient relationships lead to improved patient outcomes, and poor relationships can leave to much less favourable results.
Our latest blog delves into the top areas that help create successful patient-doctor relationships for all doctors looking to enhance their care.
What’s the value of a good patient-doctor relationship?
The doctor-patient relationship is absolutely integral to modern-day healthcare. For a successful patient outcome, patients must be able to trust their doctor and have full confidence in their doctor’s knowledge, skills and experience in order to confide and reveal all relevant information with regards to their healthcare and trust their judgement on care plans prescribed.
If there isn’t a strong doctor-patient relationship, it can not only hinder the doctor’s ability to fully assess a patient’s health condition and any contributing factors that could affect the treatment plan, but it could also lead to a lack of trust in the plan prescribed.
What are the foundations of an excellent patient-doctor relationship?
Research, study and analysis covering what makes a successful patient-doctor relationship have been in the works since the very start of modern medicine. In a recent study, the top three elements identified for a successful foundation include:
Communication
Ensuring patients receive proper care takes more than just the presence of healthcare professionals to make the correct diagnoses, it requires strong and effective communications supported by regular training.
The most precious thing a healthcare professional can give is their time. When a specialist shows that they’re prepared to lay all things aside to spend time with a patient, listen to them, get to know them and understand their wants, needs, and fears – the patient will feel valued, enriched and empowered to take control over their health.
Empathy
Empathy extends far beyond a patient’s medical history, signs and symptoms. It encompasses a strong connection and understanding between the mind, body and soul. Expressing empathy to your patient can build trust, calm anxiety and improve healthcare outcomes.
While beneficial to patients, empathy is also beneficial to doctors as they become more attuned to the psychosocial needs of their patients, helping to diagnose faster.
Last but certainly not least, as a doctor, you’re not just providing a healthcare service to a patient and then your work is done once they walk out the door. Rather, your professional relationship needs to be nurtured, built and secured over time. This means the ultimate factor that determines the fate of your working relationship is trust! Some argue that trust triumphs all other principles.
Trust provides a degree of security and it gives the patient hope that even in the face of uncertainty, they’ll trust the doctor to make the right and safe decision for them – leading to a more effective medical outcome.
Bringing the principles together
Actively working on your communication and empathy skills will automatically build your patients’ trust in you, which means you have the power to enrich an individual’s life:
- Improving the medical, functional and the emotional condition of patients
- Ensuring better patient compliance with medical treatment
- Enhancing patient satisfaction
- Reducing risk of medical misconduct accusations
At ID Medical, we also believe in the power of our relationship with you, which is why we have a dedicated Doctor’s division, on hand, 24/7 with advice, support and guidance to help find the role that’s right for you.
Want to know more? Please register with us and one of our team members will get right back to you!