Page 10 - 2021 Risk Reduction Series - Communication Part One

SVMIC Risk Reduction Series: Communication

patient care is creating new and additional risks for the

healthcare provider. From a liability standpoint, the loss of the
provider-to-patient communication is most detrimental.

Liability risks created by ineffective communication and other

errors are not limited to electronic communication. Face-to-face
communication can be just as inadequate and problematic, and

many practitioners are now practicing the equivalent of “drive-
thru” medicine. There is little time to listen to the patient and

communicate in a meaningful way. The focus is on the computer
screen and the “numbers” rather than the subjective information

provided by the patient and the family members. Focusing on
the patient as an individual can be the difference between being

sued and not being sued.

Remember that when you do not get to know your patient,

in turn, they don’t get to know you. The “invisible doctor” or
“faceless physician”, to most patients, is just a name on a report

or an EOB. The patient has no connection to the provider and
does not see the physician as a person. Studies show that to

be sued less, doctors should consider talking to patients more.
1
Patients are less likely to sue a provider whom they view as

a caring, compassionate human being. This is true even in
instances where there was clear negligence.

Part One of this course will focus on traditional, non-technology

driven communication and Part Two will focus primarily on
electronic forms of communication.

1 “To Be Sued Less, Doctors Should Consider Talking to Patients More,” https://www.nytimes.
com/2015/06/02/upshot/to-be-sued-less-doctors-should-talk-to-patients-more.html

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