People come to you because they have a health concern or need their annual wellness visit. While there, they want to know you understand their needs and will work with them to find a solution.

That’s why building a rapport or doctor-patient relationship is so critical.

The Importance of Doctor-Patient Relationships

Physician-patient relationships may seem straightforward, but they play a significant role in healthcare. Often, the better your relationship with your patients, the better their clinical outcomes will be.

But why?

Currently, the US healthcare system makes many people feel like they receive fragmented care. Appointments last only 15-20 minutes and are rescheduled often. Sometimes, patients can’t even see their doctor—or any physician—regularly. Together, these factors can make them feel disillusioned with their healthcare.

What People Want From Doctor-Patient Interactions

That’s probably not how you’d want to receive care and your patients feel the same way. To put it simply, these are the factors people look for in their providers:

• Empathy
• Trust
• Care
• Support

They want to feel like you genuinely care about their well-being and have time to dedicate to helping them make good health decisions. How do you achieve this? Improved communication between you, the patient, and other team members.

Enhancing Patient-Provider Communication

Effective communication is crucial to providing top-quality care to all your patients. What and how you communicate can influence a person’s emotional state, understanding, and health outcomes.

Here are some examples of how you can take a new approach to doctor-patient communication:

Collaborate

Treat your patients like your partners in health because they are. You want what’s best for them, and so do they. Listen to their concerns, educate them, and provide advice when appropriate.

Probe

Appointments are short, and your time is stretched thin, but building rapport with your patients is still integral. Ask questions about their career or family during appointments to show you care.

Interact

While taking notes about your patient’s concerns is beneficial, it can often seem one-sided. Consider showing them your screen where appropriate so they can see what you’re looking at, like lab results.

Embrace

Ensure people know how to access their online portal. You and your team can send reminders, appointment information, and follow-up notes. Patients are often more proactive because technology lets them message and schedule appointments.

These methods can enhance trust and empathy, improving doctor-patient interactions and health outcomes.

Where Patient-Centered Care Comes Into Play

One way to look at these relationship-building techniques is through patient-centered care. The goal here is to focus on each person’s particular needs while encouraging their involvement.

Your role here is like a guide. You inform, educate, and advise so the patient has all the information they need to decide on their best course of action. As you may suspect, this approach naturally favors quality patient-doctor relationship ethics.

How CME Enhances Doctor-Patient Relationships

Education is crucial to provider-patient relationships because it affects your approach to healthcare. Your patients will notice you’ve taken the time to stay current. They also appreciate when you can easily communicate the latest information with them.

CME aims to continuously help you become a better healthcare professional. These seminars focus on medical developments, from new communication methods to medications.