Poor communication between some doctors and their patients is a major factor in most complaints to health complaints bodies and Medical Boards, and contributes to medical negligence actions.
A new resource kit for doctors, released last night by Australia's peak health advisory body, the National Health and Medical Research Council, illustrates best practice in doctor-patient communication.
The new booklet, Communicating with Patients: Advice for Medical Practitioners, has been combined in a practical and useful binder with the re-released 1993 document, General Guidelines for Medical Practitioners on Providing Information to Patients.
NHMRC CEO, Professor Alan Pettigrew, said the information contained in the kit was brief but comprehensive, outlining the benefits of good communication and the impact of poor communication, and providing practical advice on how to handle particular situations.
"It'snow universal to include communication skills in medical student training, and many patients would, I'm sure, agree that these days most doctors spend a lot more time explaining things than they may have done 20 years ago," Professor Pettigrew said.
The Chair of the Australian Health Ethics Committee, Dr Kerry Breen, said the advice booklet (developed by AHEC) summarised what areas should be covered during a consultation and focused on techniques such as active listening, helping understanding and communicating bad news.
"This kit is an essential resource for medical students and medical practitioners and should become part of the postgraduate and continuing medical education curriculum. Patients will also find it useful to know the breadth of information that can be discussed with their doctor," Dr Breen said.