A recent study conducted by Dr. Roy Kessels shows patients forget 80% of what a doctor tells them after they leave the facility. Even more discouraging is half the information they think they remember, they recall incorrectly!1

There are a myriad of reasons why poor communication happens and patients walk away not understanding their treatment plan.

What can a healthcare professional do - right now - to combat these gaps in communication?

Part of the solution is to continuously improve one's teaching skills. This can happen inexpensively and right now. Doctors and nurses can achieve better patient outcomes if they practice five quick tips for teaching and communicating a treatment plan to patients. These tips are supported by Dr. Kessels' research and the ancient Medical Model for teaching called “Tell, Show & Do.”

After the patient's condition has been diagnosed, consider the following steps to make instructions and treatment plans easier for patients to understand and learn:

1. STRUCTURE the explanation of the treatment plan in manageable chunks. Recall is good for up to 4 to 5 tasks, however, under stress it is much less! Tell things in 2 to 3 manageable sections.
2. START with the most important information first– using simple and specific language.
3. SHOW a visual aid to back up the spoken word to help patients learn about their condition and treatment plan.
4. Ask your PATIENT to PARAPHRASE what they just heard. This enables you to check for understanding of their treatment plan and pinpoint problem areas.
5. SUMMARIZE by sending them away with information about their medical condition. This may include a written treatment plan, visual aids, and a list of resources to learn about their disease. Since the Internet is full of questionable information, direct them to resources you trust!

Involving patients through multiple modalities (hearing, seeing, saying, touching and writing) increases the chances that they understand and will follow the treatment plan because it is their part to play in the healing process. Once patients are more involved, they are invested in the treatment plan. Today is a good day to implement Structure, Start, Show, Patient Paraphrase and Summarize.

Happy Teaching!