If a patient says 'I've got a headache,' the health-care worker can give the patient a pill to relieve it. The physician has done something to help the patient, he said. Helping a patient stop smoking is much more difficult. The physician can tell patients they shouldn't smoke, but usually nothing happens. It's impossible to help someone with a problem if they don't communicate that problem to you.
Physicians have to provide for communication with their patients.
And it doesn't necessarily require a lot of time, he said. Such communication can also be done by a nurse when taking a patient's vital signs, he said. The nurse could review the patient's medicines, not just by asking them what they take, but by looking at each medicine in the bottle and asking them if they are having any problems, any difficulties with their medications. Technology can also improve communication with patients, he said. Patients in hospitals and clinics are often given videotapes that demonstrate and explain the treatment they will receive.