The ability to listen and the willingness to sympathetically communicate with your patients are essential. You must be confident and professional without being overbearing in order to gain your patients' trust. You must establish the relationship on a level that delegates the proper degree of authority to the physician while preserving the patient's dignity and self-respect. Patients generally don't sue physicians they like. The law requires that a physician must attempt to make a reasonable person understand the nature, purpose, advantages, and risks involved in consenting to or declining a given treatment or procedure.
Informed consent can be the central issue in a lawsuit.
Poor communication of the risks and alternatives involved in a procedure may become, in the eyes of a jury, an indication that a physician's responsibility was performed poorly. Well-presented information about a procedure adds to a physician's stature in the courtroom. Even with a good result, a patient may be angry if an off-hand promise is not fulfilled. Be sensitive to patients' anxiety levels. Use highly technical medical terms sparingly.