Improving Physician-patient Communications in Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Effective and clear communication is essential to the physician- patient relationship. This relationship is especially important in the care of oncology patients. Among the problems that are increasingly recognized as impediments to clear and effective communications about oncology treatment are the lack of readability of informed consent documents and difficulties in communicating complicated medical instructions orally. Among the techniques for increasing the readability of written communications such as consent forms are the use of short words, simple declarative sentences, and analyses of readability using standard assessment approaches. Strategies for improving patient recall of orally presented information include using specific, definite advice rather than abstract, obscure suggestions and dividing infomation into five distinct components. The authors conclude that steps can be taken to increase patients' understanding and comprehension of both written and spoken medical information during oncologic treatment and that findings from psychosocial studies can point out specific guidelines for more effective physician-patient communication.