How Well Does Your Doctor Communicate with You?
Communication between patients and their doctors makes a big difference in healthcare. It can affect how patients feel about their doctors – whether their doctors seem well informed and caring. Communication can also affect care – whether patients understand health information well enough to follow directions.Patients have long complained that doctors are rude, they’re bad listeners and they don’t explain things clearly. Our updated hospital Ratings show that doctors, nurses, and other clinicians often do a good job of communicating in general with patients, but struggle when it comes to information about drugs and discharge planning.