"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers."
-Voltaire
Something tells me there were more questions than answers about medical diagnosis and treatment in Voltaire's day. Healthcare care workers and professionals are now charged with the challenging task of synthesizing and processing large amounts of complex information in an effort to address patients’ clinical needs. And then we’ve got perhaps an even greater task in trying to explain these things to patients and families in ways they can understand. While certain techniques - such as the “Teach Back” method " - can be effective at confirming understanding or revealing confusion about the plan of care, patients and families often have concerns that we simply cannot anticipate.
This is why it’s critical to create an opportunity for patients and family members to share their questions, concerns or fears, no matter how redundant or extraneous they may seem in relation to our explanation of their illness. To Voltaire's point, the trick is often in the words we use to solicit these questions.
“Do you have any questions or concerns?” One of the most important things about this common query is that it almost universally signals the end of a conversation. Patients are keenly aware of the hectic pace we maintain and many may feel that we are finished speaking with them and that they are keeping us from other duties by asking more questions. Additionally, this question forces the patient or family member to acknowledge their confusion or the omission of information that they had hoped for. This may be embarrassing or feel inappropriate to some people.
“What questions or concerns do you have?” In stark contrast to the previous example, this query allows the provider to be the one to acknowledge that there are probably questions. And it opens the door to a conversation that is focused on any uncertainties and anxieties that the patient or family may have. Remember to follow-up your answers with another query to assure that you’ve addressed all of their concerns.
In addition to improving the patient experience with this approach, you’ll likely decrease the frequency of pages from nursing staff asking you to address unanswered questions or perform “service recovery” related to misunderstandings and frustration. And this will improve your experience.
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