Doctor’s communication important to patients

In his recent remarks, honourable minister of health Dr. Richard Sezibera urged Rwandans to ensure that their full rights to proper medical care are observed at all health centres country wide. He stressed that if the patients rights are not respected, strong administrative measures will be imposed on health workers either by government or by the various organs. It is always recommended that Patients have a right to care, privacy, information, choices which include decision-making and a second opinion. For most doctors, good communication is a skill like playing a musical instrument, which needs to be learned, and then practiced repeatedly to be perfected. The best communicators have an open mind, a receptive ear and an empathetic heart. Their good bedside manner is perfected through practice, experience and feedback from patients and other doctors. For these doctors, bedside manner comes naturally, and if you know a doctor with good communication skills, tries to adopt him as your mentor and copy him. Many patients today want to play an active role in their medical treatment. There fore there is need to encourage their participation and improve the doctor-patient relationship. The doctor should always learn to communicate with them even if he is so busy. It is also possible that the doctor can be an effective communicator. The doctor need to communicate in smartest way by making better use of the time e has got to attend to the patient. Patients are more likely to follow the doctor’s advice if they have a good relationship with him. This can involve things like how you enter a room is very important, Walk in the patient’s ward with a smile, shake the patients hand, call the patient by name ; first name or surname, whichever the patient prefers, and listen to his or her problems as much as possible. Doctor’s should always make it a point to remember the patient’s name just like a teacher needs to know his students or pupils. If the doctor has a bad memory, then he will find a problem of knowing all these simple things and eventually lack proper communication skills with his patients. Sometimes Patients get irritated when their doctors appear to be hurried. The doctor should always make each patients feel that they are in the center of the universe and given much attention. Sitting down and talking with the patient is far more effective than talking while standing up. Helping patients stay on track to increase efficiency and maximizing the value of the time the doctor has with them. The doctor should always guide and advice them on how to manage their lives during the period of illness. Doctors should always give time patients to express their problems. This is because the patient information may give more than ninety percent of his illness. Some doctors have tendency to ask the patients a lot of questions but he can get more information and save time in the long run by actively listening to the patient without interrupting. Sometimes one needs to teach his patients how to communicate with him. Since communication is a two way process, it’s very useful to teach the patients how to discuss their concerns with the doctor. It is therefore important to say that the doctor-patient relationship is central to the practice of medicine and is essential for the delivery of high quality health care in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. A patient must have confidence in the competence of their doctor and must feel that they can confide in him or her. For most physicians, the establishment of good relationship with a patient is important. However, some medical specialties such as psychiatry and family medicine emphasize the doctor-patient relationship more than others like pathology or radiology. The doctor-patient relationship forms one of the foundations of contemporary medical ethics. Most medical schools and universities teach medical students from the beginning, even before they set foot in hospitals, to maintain a professional rapport with patients, uphold patients’ dignity, and respect their privacy. With increasing access to computers and published online medical articles, the internet has contributed to expanding patient knowledge of their own health, conditions, and treatment options. Ends