What factors would you consider when communicating with a patient? A guide to effective healthcare dialogue

October 1, 2025 •

4 min read

According to the National Institutes of Health, poor communication can result in decreased adherence to treatment and patient dissatisfaction. This highlights the necessity of considering what factors would you consider when communicating with a patient to build trust, foster collaboration, and ultimately enhance health outcomes. Markdown OK.

Quick Summary

Effective patient communication hinges on key factors, including empathy, clear language, and active listening. Consideration of cultural backgrounds, non-verbal cues, and shared decision-making empowers patients and strengthens the provider relationship.

Key Points

Empathy and Connection: Showing genuine empathy and building rapport helps patients feel heard, understood, and more likely to follow treatment plans.
Active Listening: Give your undivided attention, listen fully before responding, and use verbal and non-verbal cues to show you are engaged.
Plain Language: Avoid medical jargon and complex terms. Use simple, concrete language to ensure the patient fully understands their condition and treatment plan.
Non-Verbal Cues: Be mindful of your own body language and pay close attention to the patient's non-verbal signals, as they can reveal important emotions and unspoken information.
Cultural Competence: Respect and understand the patient's cultural background, beliefs, and preferences to provide personalized and sensitive care.
Shared Decision-Making: Involve patients in their care decisions by discussing all options, benefits, risks, and costs, rather than simply dictating a plan.
Confirming Understanding: Always use the Teach-Back method to verify that the patient has understood the information correctly and can repeat it in their own words.

A high-quality provider-patient relationship is built on a foundation of effective communication. It goes far beyond simply relaying medical information and involves a nuanced understanding of the patient as a whole person, including their emotions, values, and cultural context. By proactively considering a range of factors, healthcare professionals can ensure their messages are not only delivered but also received, understood, and acted upon, leading to safer and more effective care.

The Foundation: Empathy and Active Listening

At the core of all good patient communication is a genuine commitment to understanding the person you are speaking with. This requires putting yourself in their shoes to recognize their emotional state and listening intently to what they are truly saying.

The power of active listening

Active listening is the cornerstone of patient-centered care. It involves more than just hearing words; it means fully concentrating on, understanding, and responding to the patient. By giving a patient your undivided attention, you can uncover important clues that might be missed in a rushed conversation. Techniques include:

Listening completely: Allow the patient to speak without interruption, especially at the beginning of the visit.
Providing feedback: Use verbal cues like “I see” or non-verbal signals like nodding to show you are engaged.
Clarifying information: Paraphrase what you've heard to ensure your understanding is accurate. For example, “So, it sounds like the pain gets worse when you’re walking?”.

Understanding non-verbal cues

Non-verbal communication, such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, can convey as much information as spoken words. Both providers and patients transmit important messages this way. For instance, a patient might say their pain is “mild,” but their wincing suggests otherwise.

For providers: Maintain an open posture (uncrossed arms), sit at eye level, and make appropriate eye contact to show respect and engagement.
For patients: Pay attention to their non-verbal signals, such as hand-wringing (anxiety) or a pained expression, to gain deeper insight into their feelings.

Overcoming Barriers to Communication

Numerous barriers can complicate effective patient communication, from environmental noise to personal fears. Acknowledging and addressing these proactively can prevent miscommunication and dissatisfaction.

Addressing language and health literacy

Many adults struggle with low health literacy, meaning they have difficulty understanding health information. This, combined with potential language barriers, requires a strategic approach.

Use plain language: Avoid medical jargon and acronyms. Use simple, everyday terms to explain conditions and treatments.
Employ the Teach-Back method: Ask patients to repeat back what they understood in their own words. This is a powerful tool for confirming comprehension.
Provide language access: Ensure professional medical interpreters are available for patients with limited English proficiency.

Navigating emotional and environmental challenges

Patients often feel vulnerable and anxious in a clinical setting, which can affect their ability to process information. External factors, like a noisy hospital, can further hinder effective dialogue.

Create a safe environment: Ensure privacy for sensitive discussions by closing doors. A calm, quiet setting encourages open dialogue.
Respond to emotions: Acknowledge a patient's emotional state with empathetic statements like, “I can see this is very stressful for you”.
Manage interruptions: If an interruption occurs, respectfully explain that you will return to the conversation as soon as possible, so the patient doesn't feel neglected.

Comparison Table: Ineffective vs. Effective Communication


Factor	Ineffective Communication	Effective Communication
Language	Using medical jargon and technical terms that confuse the patient.	Using plain, simple language and avoiding acronyms. Employing analogies to simplify complex ideas.
Listening	Interrupting the patient early and assuming you know their main concern.	Actively listening to the patient's full story without interruption. Asking open-ended questions to encourage dialogue.
Non-Verbal Cues	Checking the clock, standing over the patient, or having a closed posture.	Maintaining eye contact, sitting down at eye level, and leaning forward to show interest.
Involvement	Presenting a treatment plan as a directive without considering the patient's input.	Engaging in shared decision-making, where the provider and patient collaborate on a plan based on evidence and patient values.
Confirmation	Assuming the patient understood all the information provided.	Using the Teach-Back method to have the patient explain the plan in their own words.

Fostering Shared Decision-Making and Cultural Competence

Shared decision-making and cultural competence are vital for providing personalized and respectful care. Shared decision-making involves collaborating with patients to make treatment decisions based on both clinical evidence and the patient's personal values and preferences.

Practicing cultural competence

Patients come from diverse backgrounds, and their culture can influence their health beliefs, communication styles, and family dynamics.

Understand your own biases: Reflect on your own cultural worldview and potential implicit biases.
Ask respectful questions: Ask patients about their cultural practices or beliefs that may be relevant to their care.
Involve the family (with permission): Ask the patient if they would like to involve family members or caregivers in the conversation, as this is important in many cultures.

Conclusion: The Cornerstone of Quality Care

Considering the numerous factors that influence communication with a patient is not merely a soft skill but a critical component of delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. By focusing on empathy, clear language, and active listening, healthcare providers can build strong, trusting relationships. Overcoming barriers like low health literacy and language differences, coupled with a commitment to shared decision-making and cultural competence, empowers patients to become active participants in their own health. This not only improves health outcomes but also increases patient satisfaction and reduces the risk of serious errors. Cultivating these skills transforms a medical interaction into a meaningful partnership, proving that exceptional communication is at the heart of exceptional healthcare. For further reading, resources from organizations like the American Academy of Family Physicians can offer additional guidance on improving patient communication strategies based on information from the AAFP.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Teach-Back method involves asking a patient to explain in their own words what they have been told. It's an important tool for ensuring comprehension, as it places the responsibility for clear communication on the provider, not the patient.

To improve communication with patients who have low health literacy, use simple language, provide information in small, easy-to-digest chunks, and use visual aids. Always use the Teach-Back method to confirm understanding.

Non-verbal cues are crucial because they can provide insight into a patient’s true feelings, fears, or physical discomfort that they may not express verbally. Your own non-verbal behavior can also build or break rapport and trust with a patient.

If a language barrier exists, it is essential to use a professional medical interpreter rather than a family member or untrained staff. Speak directly to the patient in short, simple sentences, pausing to allow for interpretation.

Always ask the patient for permission before including family members or caregivers in the conversation. Once permission is granted, include them as valuable partners in providing information and helping the patient remember instructions.

Shared decision-making is a collaborative process where the healthcare provider and the patient work together to make treatment decisions. The provider offers evidence-based information, and the patient contributes their personal values and preferences to arrive at a mutual conclusion.

Manage time by setting a clear agenda at the beginning of the visit, addressing the patient's most important concerns first. Communicate respectfully if time is short, and assure them that other issues can be addressed at a follow-up visit.