Importance of Good Communication

Patients, their families, Specialists / Super-specialists and other service providers benefit from good communication. Poor communication can have significant negative impact. It can lead to dissatisfaction, feeling of being abandoned, losing hope and inability to make up mind on how to handle the situation. Some patients may go to quacks / babas or just go into a silence mode, they may attempt suicide etc.

Common barriers in starting a satisfactory communication are as under:

Patient Factors

Patient may have drowsiness, fatigue, hearing impairment, dementia might not understand doctor's language or the medical jargons. Patient may be in denial, anxiety, depression or may be in a withdrawn phase, not wanting to share his thoughts.

Family Factors

Not getting satisfactory information about:-

• Physical & mental fatigue
• Poor understanding of medical condition & terminologies
• Difficult decision making required about:

• Ethical decisions on continuing or withholding treatment.
• Advantages and disadvantages of continuing expensive treatment.
• Logic of intensive care and resuscitation, when cure is not possible.

3. Specialist/ Superspecialist factors

• Overworked and not being able to devote desired time.
• Preference for treating curable patients first.
• Paying attention only to physical aspects.
• Never enquiring about psychological, spiritual and social aspects.
• Giving false assurance
• Poor approach to breaking bad news
• Loss of interest in the case

Therefore a good Palliative Care Specialist is required to take over the case. Palliative Care Specialists are trained in excellent communication skills and ethical decision making. They work with a positive approach to improve the quality of life, by patiently listening to the patients and their families; understanding their physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, financial and cultural needs. They do not provide false reassurance to the patient & communicate the reality on a positive note. They do communicate their concern for the patient and always seem to find a way for good symptom control. This improves patients quality of life and patient & family does not feel abandoned. Palliative care specialist will always work jointly with the patient & family, making them self relaint, productive & enable the patient a life of dignity.