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A new survey shows that both physicians and patients believe that barriers to effective health care communication exist, which can have serious consequences for patients’ health.
Ninety-three percent of primary care physicians said that serious medical problems could be avoided if patients were more willing to talk about their problems with a physician or health care professional, according to the results of a Louis Harris survey released in December.
The survey, commissioned by the "Take Time to Talk" Advisory Council, chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., showed that 31 percent of patients had recently postponed seeking medical advice and 26 percent admitted they were often reluctant to discuss sensitive health issues with their physicians.
"Without the trust and confidence instilled by honest and empathetic interchange, patients are more inclined to avoid proper medical care because they don’t understand the consequences," Koop commented in the statement.
The goal of the "Take Time to Talk" campaign is to promote effective communication between patients and their health care providers, particularly on sensitive or stigmatized medical topics such as mental illness and urinary incontinence.
A representative cross-section of 230 primary care physicians and 1,008 adult patients was interviewed by telephone last October. Primary care physicians included general and family practitioners, obstetrician/gynecologists, and internists.
The primary reasons patients cited for avoiding talking to a physician about a health problem were that the doctor seemed rushed (17 percent), there was not enough time during the visit (17 percent), and their embarrassment about discussing it (15 percent).
Among the primary reasons physicians gave for their own reluctance to talk with patients about a health problem were embarrassment (25 percent), symptoms did not appear important (11 percent), and being afraid to deliver bad news (8 percent).
About 67 percent of physicians surveyed agreed that not being able to spend enough time with patients is a serious or very serious problem. Moreover, 61 percent agreed that they were not well prepared in medical school or their residencies for the challenges of communicating effectively with their patients about difficult issues.
Koop commented, "Young physicians enter medical practice brimming with a mastery of medicine’s vast technology, but sadly deficient in their ability to relate to the very people they have pledged to serve."
Nonetheless, Koop added, "communication runs both ways, and physicians have their own legitimate grievances about the patients’ role in the equation."
About two-thirds of the primary care physicians reported having serious difficulties in treating patients who are hesitant or too embarrassed to talk about their health problems. An even higher percentage of physicians (73 percent) said they believed that fear of delivering or hearing bad news is a major impediment to effective communication between themselves and their patients.
Moreover, half of the physicians surveyed believed that patients’ busy schedules prevent them from visiting a doctor’s office.
Koop emphasized that "improving the overall level of provider-patient communication ultimately betters the level of health care and quality of life in the United States," but added that this goal cannot be accomplished by just one party to the equation. "It will require the cooperation of patients, health care providers, and health insurance companies," he noted.