The nurse administrator looked at me and said, “Time. Everything is about time.” I had asked her about some front-burner issues she was facing in the oncology department. She continued, with a look on her face that was almost apologetic. “The docs want more time with their patients. They want more time.” Over the course of our conversation, the time that providers … [Read more...]
Infographic: 25 ways to elicit important patient information
A Family Practice Physician recently spoke to a group I was in. He underscored the importance of follow-up questions, even when they seem irrelevant or off-topic. The example he used was asking a patient, “Do you smoke?” and if their answer is “no,” the danger of moving on to the next issue. He said providers were “missing opportunities for follow up questions” that could … [Read more...]
25 different ways to elicit important information
I recently heard a Family Practice Physician comment on the importance of follow-up questions. He mentioned how it’s easy to ask a patient, “Do you smoke?” and if their answer is “no,” to move on to the next issue. He said providers were “missing opportunities for follow up questions,” even though the patient had said they did not smoke. Such follow-up questions might … [Read more...]
“I can’t follow my patient home:” how context matters in health communication & education
I was coaching a physician on making his patient education more effective. He was understandably frustrated, as many physicians are, over the short amount of time he has with each patient. We talked about the many constraints around patient education. His voice raised and he sounded exasperated: “I can’t follow my patient home!” There are many ways to interpret this … [Read more...]
So, your organization is doing unconscious bias training? Three things to consider
Just over two weeks ago, I was giving a talk at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health about addressing unconscious bias in our language. At the end, one of the questions I received from a participant was: “It sometimes takes a lifetime to create those biases, that sometimes become innate. How do [we] unlearn those biases?” Ten days later, national attention … [Read more...]
