Shortages of Doctor-Patient Communication. Teaching Patients to Communicate Effectively

Specific behaviours during the patient-physician interaction are associated with a higher degree of satisfaction and improved patient health-outcomes. Our aim was to present arguments also for a structured patient education program by proving a correlation between patient satisfaction and quality of interaction. We analysed 84 doctor-patient interactions: relevant behavioural elements, gestures and speech acts, considered by us essential in a therapeutical relationship, confirming, that encounters generally lack gestures, which might help patients feel comfortable during the consultation, however – also confirmed - patients are more satisfied when these needs are somehow satisfied. We believe, there are teachable techniques, which may help patients to get the most from their providers.