During the years of my practice, I have heard a lot of stories, which can be summarised into 2 groups.
Group 1 - the patient side says "Doctors never explain. We have to drag the information, search the internet, and talk to friends to know."
Group 2 - the doctor side says "Patients are not able to hear and understand. I do my best explaining and they are complaining later. I talk, give written information which they never read, I'm trying the video, but still it does not work"
So, interestingly, both groups aim the same - to be able to get and deliver the information, to know, and to be prepared for the surgery. And it does not work.
The source of that issue is an attention bias. When a patient visits a doctor, he or she has a lot of concerns in the head. However, not all of them are possible to communicate directly to a doctor. The reason is lack of time, number of different concerns which rises in different areas, and the most important some of them are not perceived in rational part of patient's mind. And, these concerns are the main focus of patient's attention.
Attention is the part of human behavior that is used to focus the senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch) and all the information in the form of text, speech, or video. In other words, all that matters around - physically or mentally. Attention to information that is not important is a distraction. People have limited attention resources, that's why we need to choose what to focus on that matters.
For a patient, focusing on what matters means paying attention to items of interest related to their concerns, fears, and needs for now and the future.
Thus, if the doctor simply tries to explain what matters to the patient in the doctor's understanding, the vast majority of resources and information will be diluted if the patient's focus of attention is set to a different topic.
The initial setup of the discussion, where fears and concerns are the main topics, is a core element in successful patient communication and an effective patient education process.
The same approach applies to the patient educational materials that a clinic or doctor is planning to create. If you are using education materials, it is worth reviewing them and asking yourself: Is it something that really matters to my patients, or is it what I believe I shall deliver?
This is the first step to improving patient communication efficacy and decreasing frustration raised by patients who do not listen.
Oleksii Sologub
MSc, LLB, SE MBA
Entrepreneur | Board Member & Strategic Business Consultant in Ophthalmology
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