One of the most important aspects of a medical practice’s success is the doctor and patient relationship. Due to certain expertise in the health care communications industry, you can alienate your patients and still run a successful practice, however you will undoubtedly be more successful if your patients actually like you! As a patient, one deciding factor in choosing your doctor is if you actually like the doctor as a person.

Do you get along with your doctor?

You might not like your doctor, but establishing a relationship with him beyond the nurse call systems is very important! If you dread going to see your doctor, not because of the prescribed treatment, but because you simply don’t like the person, how is that a good thing?

Bedside manner is essential to patients. Keeping a patient relaxed while being honest will ultimately help them with their treatment. No one wants to be barked at, or have commands thrown at them for their treatment. Patient’s doesn’t necessarily want a new best friend in their doctor, either.

It is important to differentiate between a patient’s wants and needs. A patient may want a friendly doctor to tell them that everything is okay and they will be absolutely fine, but what they actually need is for someone to give them an honest opinion and assessment of their condition.

There is a fine balance in this type of bedside manner. Would a patient consider switching doctors simply because they aren’t hearing what they want to hear? Possibly. However, in the long run, delivering a prognosis in a professional but friendly way is vital to a practices success. The patients will appreciate it more and consider their relationship with the doctor a good one.

So, do you get along with your doctor? Before you answer you might want to reflect on the way they have interacted with you as opposed to the information being conveyed.

Technical source:  http://tech4people.com