“We’ll see you and Katie on Monday. Take it easy this weekend,” the vet tech says on the other end of the phone. “Thanks,” I say, and my voice can’t escape cracking, and I hang up the phone and cry. It’s Saturday. The Monday appointment will likely have only one outcome. I am standing at […]
News
Upgrade your patient education. Fast. Here. Now.
Partners, I’m proud to announce – the Effective Patient Education Audiobook Bundle This bundle will make your life easier. And it might change the way you think about patient education. You see many patients in a day and have a high level of complexity to deal with. You want patients to trust you, hear […]
Why addressing unconscious bias can make people nervous
Last week I was in Baltimore, at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare/Health Literacy Annual Research Conference. Every one of the keynote addresses discussed biases and stereotypes. Every one. (Biases and stereotypes was not the conference theme.) The importance of examining and addressing unconscious biases seems to be well understood in the research community. […]
Get more free resources in our Free Member Library
Did you know we have a Library? And that it’s free? And that you can use it, right now? There’s no shortage of resources out there on health communication, health literacy, digital health, and patient education. When there’s so much to wade through, it becomes more a question of where to start. At Health Communication […]
4 lessons about communication in digital health (in 10 minutes)
It’s no secret that people appreciate and use digital health tools. A recent industry report finds that 87% of Americans used at least one digital health tool in 2017. (An upward trend from 80% two years earlier.) Digital health tools are being used globally as well. They can reach people in remote areas. They are also part […]
Learn two steps to help improve your health communication
“I was listening for the pain. I kept listening for the pain.” This was what a physician said during our debriefing after a role-play. She was the ‘attending,’ another physician played the ‘patient,’ and I was the observer. The role-play was a brief initial patient consultation. During the debrief, we were focused on communication. The […]
Infographic: 13 ways to reflect on patient/client communication
Here at Health Communication Partners, we think (and talk and write) about health communication all the time. It’s, y’know, in our name. Of all the possible ways of approaching the issue of communicating with patients, this is one of my favorites. That’s partly because when it comes to communicating as professionals, reflective practice can help […]
Addressing Implicit Bias Audiobook Bundle
Addressing Implicit Bias Audiobook Bundle There are subtle ways our everyday language can unintentionally disadvantage certain social or cultural groups. What’s more, ordinary institutional policies and practices can unwittingly reflect bias. Based in decades of research on bias in language and policy, these materials share a commitment to reducing health disparities. research-based steps you can […]
4 tips for sharing information with a patient or client
Last week, I was at the Chronic Disease Prevention Symposium, where I gave a plenary session on health literacy. After my talk, there was time for questions. Eventually, one physician raised his hand. Taking the microphone, he said he’d appreciated my talk. Then, he asked (as closely as I can recall): What if we need […]
