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BASICS OF PATIENT COMMUNICATION, To be professionally effective, pharmacists should be aware of:, Different information they pass on to their patients and how the patients perceive them, How to ensure that communication is tailored to the situation and support good pharmacy practice and human relations, Proper communication skills are building blocks for creating a rapport with patient and any health care professional as well.
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WHAT IF THE COMMUNICATION IS POOR ???, Poor communication leads to:, Inaccurate patient medication history, Inappropriate therapeutic decisions, Patient confusion, lack of interest and non-adherence
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TYPES OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS, VERBAL COMMUNICATION, Linguistic element of the message, NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION, VOCAL (PARALANGUAGE): tone, pitch, volume, accent, speed, NON VERBAL: body language, gaze, facial expression. Proximity and orientation, posture, touch
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VERBAL COMMUNICATION, The use of appropriate vocabulary and avoidance of complex words is important., Good communication skills are needed to gain the patient’s confidence and to help motivate the patient to adhere to the recommended treatment., The essence of good communication is that the message received is the same as the message sent.
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THREE ELEMENTS OF GOOD COMMUNICATION, SENDER, , RECEIVER, , MESSAGE
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SENDER, The sender can make sure that the message is received correctly by:, Speaking clearly, Speaking slowly, Using simple and correct language, Checking understanding by the receiver
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RECEIVER, The receiver can make sure the message is received correctly by:, Listening carefully, Asking for clarification, Writing down the message, Repeating the message verbally in order to check the message received is the one given.
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MESSAGE, When we communicate an information, it usually consists of ‘factual’ and ‘feeling ‘ elements and this is transmitted both verbally and nonverbally., The feedback of an information from the receiver could be verbal or non-verbal (facial expression) which can influence the action of a sender.
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Essential verbal communication skills include:, Ability to listen, understand and respond to what people say (active listening), Ability to interpret the nonverbal communication and respond in a way that encourages the interaction (evaluation)
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ACTIVE LISTENING, Focus on patient or attender and make them feel like centre of attraction, Show an open, relaxed attitude, Set aside all professional interactions, Only a good listener can become a good counsellor, Keep eye contact, nodding, asking questions which indicates attention
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OBSERVATION AND ASSESSMENT, Effective two way communication requires:, Continuous observation, Assessment of how the person is communicating, , Body language and gestures provide important clues for pharmacist
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LANGUAGE, Use a language in which both parties are fluent and comfortable for an effective communication, Do not use medical jargons which makes fear and anxiety in patients
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NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION, TONE: conveys the feelings and attitude of the person. It should be caring and reassuring, , VOLUME: ideally not too high and thus, counselling should be conducted in quite, private setting where it is not required to raise voice., , SPEED: should be adjusted, ideally be slow for a better clarity of the content and it should give time to think about what is being said.
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NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION-CONTD.., BODY LANGUAGE: tone of voice and body language together contribute more towards effective communication than the words in the message., , Between 60 and 80 % of our message is communicated through our body language and inly 7-10 % is transmitted through actual words of conversation.
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NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION-CONTD.., There are five main areas of body language:, 1. GAZE: , Our eyes aptly mirror our emotions. So, eye contact is a significant determinant of interacting with patients which exhibits mutual respect and interest between the counselling pharmacist and patient. It helps in building confidence and attention of patients., For cultural, personal or religious reasons, some patients may avoid looking into counsellor’s eyes and vice versa.
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2. FACIAL EXPRESSION: , Judgements are often made about the emotional state of a person just by the interpretation of facial expressions, especially movement of eyebrows and mouth, which signal different types of emotions., The counsellor should appear peaceful and contented by face, because an anxious facial expression may give the message that the counsellor is unapproachable or disinterested., Smiling occasionally will ward off such misunderstanding and make patient relaxed.
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3. PROXIMITY AND ORIENTATION:, Proximity refers to the distance that people maintain between themselves during conversation, Positioning can be very important if a patient is asking the recommended treatment for a rash for example.
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4. POSTURE:, Our posture sends signals about the interest in something, our openness and our attentiveness., How people sit, stand or lie can communicate the feeling to others: upright or bent, arms crossed or not., A forward sloping stance suggests a dominating attitude., A sprawled or bent posture suggest lack of interest and conviction., Upright posture demonstrates confident behaviour without any hidden meaning., Tightened fists, moving hands and tapping feet : indicators of stress or tension, Open hand suggest relaxed frame of mind
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5. TOUCH:, Social touch: like handshake, Consoling touch: usually arm or hand used to calm down a person, Occupational touch: simple examination, minor first aid or demonstration of use of medical devices.
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COMMUNICATING WITH PRESCRIBERS, PHARMACIST-PHYSICIAN COMMUNICATION: , Be prepared with specific questions or facts and recommendations when initiating a patient care-related conversation with physicians., Maintain professional integrity and language , Show respect
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PATIENT COUNSELLING AIDS, HAND OUTS, PATIENT INFORMATION LEAFLET (PIL), Demonstration materials like charts or models.
