Doctor-patient communication (again!)

Hospitalized patients and their doctors often have differing beliefs regarding patients' knowledge and aspects of their care, suggesting a need for improved patient-physician communication, according to research published in the Aug. 9/23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Nearly all physicians (98%) stated that they at least sometimes discussed their patients' fears and anxieties, compared with 54% of patients who said their physicians never did this (P = .001).

As a doctor if you really want to know if your communication with patients is any good (and where you can improve), then you need to ask every patient and every relative how well you are doing - they will tell you! iWantGreatCare makes this simple, easy and revealing, and can be fully integrated with your appraisal and personal development. Start here.

As a patient, please help your doctor by telling them how they are doing in this respect. All as good as it could be? Then use iWantGreatCare to praise and thank those looking after you.