Recent research has shown how public health, medical care, and human service providers can unintentionally contribute to racial and ethnic health disparities. This is distressing, and almost unbelievable, considering that most health professionals genuinely seek to give good care to all patients and clients. Yet, there are documented links between health care professionals’ unconscious bias, and […]
Reflective Practice
One way you can improve your health communication right now
The end of the year gives us all a reason to look back, and take stock. As I was reflecting on my work in health communication this year, I saw a pattern I thought I’d share with you. It’s about a commonality in many of the conversations I’ve had, that might be helpful to you. […]
5 quick wins for your patient communication
Sometimes you just need a quick win. A panel I attended last week spent about 90 minutes really getting into the weeds of some serious issues around patient communication. Toward the end, the moderator turned to the panel and said, “Well, everyone wants a quick win.” He then put the panel members on the spot: […]
“Are we using technical terms that are not appropriate for any patient?”
“Are we using technical terms? That are not appropriate for any patient?” This was a physician group administrator talking with me on the phone. This group had reached out to me, and I was asking about the problems they were facing. This was one of the first things the administrator said. I hear versions of […]
A quick breakdown of some health literacy basics
“When I say ‘health literacy,’ what does that mean to you?” I asked 4 physicians this question. I got 4 very different answers. And all of them were ‘right.’ As health professionals, you care about health literacy. I know this because when I’ve done in-person talks, nothing has drawn more attention and put more butts […]
1 thing you can do to save time in patient education
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 […]