Healthcare Communication: Effective Techniques for Clinicians

Barbara Schindler, MD, author of the DocCom module, The Clinical Assessment of Substance Use Disorders, with over 150 publications, abstracts and presentations in consultation-liaison psychiatry/psychosomatic medicine, substance use disorders in women and medical education, discusses how to talk to patients about substance use.

Richard Kravitz, MD discusses Getting to No: Negotiating with Patients about Their Test Requests and the most effective way to work with patients when tests are unnecessary. Find out how patient satisfaction scores are impacted when tests are denied.

Neil Prose, MD discusses how curiosity transforms strangers into people with whom we can empathize. Listen to fascinating stories and learn how to go home feeling satisfied and eliminate burnout.

Cathy Risdon, MD, DMan, CCFP, FCFP discusses how to eliminate attendees reading and responding to emails in meetings by using check-ins, check-outs, 1-2-4 techniques, etc. Her tips will alter the way you conduct meetings.

Gregory Makoul, PhD, MS, the Founder and CEO of PatientWisdom, discusses using patient stories to enrich the clinician and patient experience. Their are two experts in the room and the patient perspective is valuable.

Allison H. Ferris, MD, FACP discusses Providing Effective Feedback: Pitfalls and Pearls and how, when and where to provide feedback.

James A. Tulsky, MD, discusses Teaching Communication Skills at the Bedside. He is the Chair of the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and he is the Chief of the Division of Palliative Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. James is Co-Director of the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care, where he is also Professor of Medicine.

How do you prepare for a difficult conversation with patient and families? Stephen D. Brown, MD discusses Disclosure and Apology: Preparing for Difficult Conversations. He is the Director of the Boston Children's Hospital Institute for Professionalism and Ethical Practice, which trains physicians, nurses and other medical professionals to communicate with patients and families with more compassion and confidence. A diagnostic pediatric radiologist, he is also an Associate Ethicist in the hospital's Office of Ethics and a Senior Scholar in its Academy for Teaching and Educational Innovation and Scholarship. He is an Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. The recipient of many esteemed awards and widely published, he is interested in the interface of ethics and communication around advanced diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, and how to build skills and systems for improvement.

Alicia Monroe, MD, provost and senior vice president of academic and faculty affairs at Baylor College of Medicine discusses Communicating about Structural Factors: Seeking to Reduce Barriers to Health.

Listen to Jason Wolf, President of the Beryl Institute, discuss survey results about patients' healthcare preferences. Find out the three most important qualities of patient and clinician interactions.