might be a medication side effect.
To address this and related
communications issues between
caregivers and patients, Baylor Scott
& White Health has launched a
communication skills course to
help providers better communicate
with their patients. The “Art of
Communication” courses are a full-
day, intensive program open to all
clinicians who work with patients,
including administrators, nurses,
advanced practice providers, and
physicians. Certified trainers from
Baylor Scott & White help caregivers
learn to ask open-ended questions
about what concerns a patient has.
Providers then learn to use that list
of concerns to work with the patient
to set an agenda for the visit so the
most important concerns get addressed
and no question gets left behind.
Class participants also learn effective
ways to express their empathy in
response to a patient’s concerns before
getting into problem-solving mode
about health conditions. Empathy
helps build a personal relationship
between patients and providers, even
if their time together might only be
15 minutes long.
“Empathy helps relieve anxiety,
which leads to better health outcomes.
Our underlying theme is building
relationships. It sounds warm and
fuzzy, but it’s also very practical,”
says Angie Hochhalter, vice president
of Patient-Centered Care Redesign.
“Empathy helps patients know they
have been heard. It is also a way for
providers to connect personally with
their patients.”
A study published by the
Cleveland Clinic last year found that
patients who saw healthcare providers
with similar specialized training got
more information from their visit,
felt more confident about the visit,
and had higher satisfaction with
their providers than when they saw
doctors who hadn’t been trained in
this way.
The study also showed that providers
thought their patient visits were more
effective after they completed the
communications course. The training
at Scott & White,” says Mike Reis,
MD, chairman of the Baylor Scott &
White Health Department of Family
Medicine. Dr. Reis attended the class
in fall 2016. “You leave the class with
real tools you’ll be able to apply the
next day at work.”
Structured communication helps
providers better know their patients
and then tailor treatments to meet
their needs. For example, a patient
who wants to avoid medications will
be less likely to take pills for high
blood pressure every day. But if her
healthcare provider knows this about
her, he could suggest other changes to
try first, such as sleep and exercise, that
“Empathy helps relieve anxiety, which leads to better
health outcomes. Our underlying theme is building
relationships. It sounds warm and fuzzy, but it’s also
very practical.”
—Angie Hochhalter
led to increases in their own levels of
empathy and reduced the levels of
burnout and emotional exhaustion that
can sometimes plague providers.
One physician’s experience
“I will honestly tell you that I attended
this class more out of curiosity to see
what they were teaching. I left wishing
I had been able to learn what they
taught when I was a young new doctor
will be a better fit for her health and
life goals. The patient and doctor are
more likely to leave that visit confident
in their plan to manage her condition.
It’s clear that effective communi-
cations and building a rapport are
important for a successful provider
and patient relationship, and Baylor
Scott & White Health caregivers are
embracing this idea to make patients’
experiences better. n
sw.org | Spring 17 THE CATALYST
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