PRACTICE PARTNER
Three questions can help
patients feel they’re heard
DOC TALK
By Stuart Foxman
D
octor-patient encounters can be described
sometimes as transactions. A problem is presented and a medical solution is offered. Yet
does that always satisfy the patient’s needs?
Not necessarily, says Dr. Gurpreet Dhaliwal, an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco who has called this the “get
down to business approach.”
Last year, the Wall Street Journal asked a panel of healthcare experts to name the most important thing doctors
can do to improve their communication skills with
patients.
Ask the ICE questions, said Dr. Dhaliwal.
ICE stands for ideas, concerns and expectations. Understanding the perspective of the other person is a key
to better communication. One way to do that and get
away from the transactional model is by asking three
questions:
Idea: What do you think is going on?
Concerns: What are you most worried about?
Expectations: What do you think I can do?
Are you asking those questions often enough? And what
happens when you do?
Tap into strong patient desire to collaborate
Start with ideas. An Environics survey about attitudes
towards health and wellness found that Canadians want
a collaborative relationship with their physicians.
For instance, when asked to think about times when a
health treatment decision has to be made, 75% of patients said they want to work with a physician so both
parties have a say. This was a global survey of patients in
28 countries, and Canadians expressed one of the highest levels of demand for input.
The desire is there, yet needs to be tapped. Patients
aren’t always forthcoming. “Be clear” was one of the “10
things doctors secretly wish they could tell you” reported an article in Canada’s Best Health magazine.
The top 10 list came from a nationwide survey of Canadian doctors. As one said, “I’m not a mind reader.
Playing ‘stump the doctor’ is a waste of everyone’s
DIALOGUE • Issue 1, 2014
PRACTICE PARTNER
Breaking the ICE
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