How Physicians can Improve Their Listening Skills

How Physicians can Improve Their Listening Skills

In this era of electronic health records, physicians can improve patient care only if they practice and develop good listening skills.

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We all know how critical listening skills are to a medical transcriptionist. Among other qualities, medical transcription companies carefully assess prospective candidates’ ability to listen to physician dictation and type out what they hear. In fact, listening skills are crucial for many professions and the medical field is most likely on top of the list. By developing good listening skills, physicians can improve care and this is all the more important in this era of electronic health records. Good history-taking depends on the physician’s listening skills. At the same time, patients need to pay close attention to what their doctor says in order to improve self-care.

In her new book “What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear”, Danielle Ofri, M.D. says that from a physician’s point of view, listening is much more than simply hearing complaints. She refers to listening as a diagnostic tool and a therapeutic tool and says that physicians should also use their eyes to listen as patients’ body language can speak volumes. Here are some ways physicians can improve their listening skills:

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Listen to body language: Physicians need to practice listening, empathy, and paying attention to the paraverbal and non-verbal elements of patient communication such as facial expressions, gestures and posture. For instance, Ofri says that patients may give nonverbal clues or reasons for “noncompliance” with medication instructions.

While the non-verbal aspect includes body language such as posture, gesture, facial expression and spatial distance, the paraverbal component includes voice tone, pitch, pacing and volume. Studies have shown that nonverbal component of the communication

positively

impacts

important

factors

like

patient

satisfaction,

adherence to the physician’s instructions and treatment outcomes.

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Try not to interrupt: When listening to the patient, try not to interrupt. They are trying to explain their problems and it’s necessary that you hear them out fully. Even if you disagree with them, be patients and learn all the facts before you give an answer. Also, avoid thinking about what you are going to say when the patient is talking.

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Doing away with distractions: Most physicians find the electronic health record (EHR) data entry a major distraction during the consultation. They cannot focus on what the patient is saying as they are required to make entries in the EHR. Outsourcing medical transcription is proving a viable solution to this problem. Eliminating distractions like phone calls can also improve the face-to-face encounter. Other strategies to improve communication during the office visit include enlisting the help of clinical staff and ensuring that the chart and exam room are well organized before the encounter.

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The touch goes a long way: The physician’s body language matters too. You can show your patients that you are paying attention to what they are saying by sympathetic gestures. Touching their hand while communicating with patients can build a deeper connection and improve trust.

Ofri points out that listening can help when conflicts arise and mistakes are made. Listening improves communication and helps physicians break bad news.

Timely and accurate EHR-integrated medical transcription improves the quality and continuity of care. For this, physicians need to partner with a medical transcription company that has a skilled team on board. In addition to good listening and typing skills, the teams in reliable medical transcription service companies have extensive knowledge of medical terminology relating to various specialties, excellent control over grammar, spelling and punctuation, and advanced research capabilities.

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