Ensuring safer and better healthcare through improved clinician-patient communication

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) today launched an initiative with the Ad Council to encourage clinicians and patients to engage in effective two-way communication to ensure safer care and better health outcomes. For nearly a decade, AHRQ has encouraged patients to be more involved in their health care, and this new initiative builds on previous public education campaigns AHRQ has conducted under contract with the Ad Council around the theme “Questions are the Answer.”

This phase of the initiative features new public service ads directed at clinicians with the message that a simple question can reveal as much important information as a medical test. Research shows that better communication correlates with higher rates of patient compliance with treatment plans. This improved compliance can lead to better blood sugar control for patients with diabetes, for example.

“We know that when patients and clinicians communicate well, care is better. But in today’s fast-paced health care system, good communication isn’t always the norm,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “This campaign reminds us all that effective communication between patients and their health care team is important and that it is possible – even when time is limited.”

Ref and Read more: http://www.newschannel10.com/story/15534990/ahrq-initiative-encourages-better-two-way-communication-between-clinicians-and-patients

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