Everyone knows that effective communication is essential for patient safety. Everyone also knows someone that doesn't communicate very well. In healthcare, this can be dangerous. If a doctor doesn't listen to her patient, critical information may be missed and the patient misdiagnosed. If the patient doesn't understand her doctor, she may not follow directions. Better communication and relationships between physicians and patients decrease lawsuits if adverse events do occur. Another benefit of improved communication is improved satisfaction survey results. Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores will factor in on reimbursement, which is a strong motivator for hospital administration to help poorly communicating practitioners improve.

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