All these changes are unsettling for both doctors and patients. Then there s the blame factor. Doctors often blame patients when communication breaks down. But researchers have found that many doctors have shaky interviewing skills. Patients who were allowed to state their concerns without interruption used only an average of 6 more seconds.
Doctors often ignore the patient s emotional health.
A study of 21 doctors at an urban, university-based clinic found that when patients dropped emotional clues or talked openly about emotions, the doctor seldom acknowledged their feelings. Instead the conversation was directed back to technical talk. In one study of 20-minute office visits, doctors spent about 1 minute per visit informing patients but believed they were spending 9 minutes per visit doing so. An analysis of 45 malpractice cases found that many of the doctors being sued delivered information poorly and devalued the patient s views. Patients aren t perfect either.