Communicating with Patients

Interpersonal communication is now recognized as being of the greatest importance in all the caring professions. The ability of the doctor to instil confidence in patients and convince them of the need of their compliance, for example, can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful treatment. All the caring professions face similar problems with non-compliant or difficult patients, and with patients who have difficulty understanding the instructions they are being given. This book analyzes the problems, discussing how they arise and when and where they are most likely to occur. It outlines how health professionals can improve their communicative skills both written and spoken and thus avoid many of these problems, discussing what methods are likely to work best in different circumstances. It also reviews the topic of non-compliance by professionals themselves, as well as by patients.