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FORUM - Translating research into quality health care for Veterans


In This Issue

Director's Letter

Director's Letter
by Seth A. Eisen, M.D., M.Sc.

Because emotional issues are so prominent among Veteran and civilian populations, and their impact on physical health and quality of life so high, developing improved approaches to effective communication are more essential than ever...

Commentary

The Challenge of Patient-Provider Communication in Ambulatory Care
by Al Perry M.P.A., M.H.A., FACHE Director, VA Central California Health Care System

The 20-45 minute ambulatory care patient-provider encounter has critical value and potential benefits perhaps not fully realized in the VA today. Beyond primary care, these crucial encounters also occur thousands of times a day in VHA Specialty Clinics. For that reason, I invite the VA research community to describe or develop evidence-based best practices for patient-provider encounters....

Response to Commentary

Good Communication Is Not Magic
by James Tulsky, M.D., Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care Durham VA Medical Center

Good communication increases patient recall of information, adherence to therapy, satisfaction and, ultimately, clinical outcomes such as diabetic glucose control and functional status.1 Communication success and failure appear to generate more gratitude and complaints than any other aspect of the work performed by health care professionals...

Research Highlights

Exam Room Computing and the Physician-Patient Relationship
by Richard M. Frankel, Ph.D., The Richard L. Roudebush VA HSR&D Center of Excellence on Implementing Evidence-Based Practice, Indianapolis, Indiana

One of the precepts of patient-centeredness is that care is based on partnerships, and partnerships, in turn, are related to sharing information. The same holds for CPRS. As an educational tool, CPRS can be a rich source of information and guidance...


The Importance of Clinician-Patient Communication Behaviors
by Howard S. Gordon, M.D., Jesse Brown VAMC and the VA HSR&D Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Chicago, Illinois

Efforts to improve clinician-patient communication should recognize that communication is a two-way street. Patients who ask questions are more likely to influence their clinician to provide answers, and clinicians who are supportive are more likely to encourage patients to be active participants in the interaction....


Safe and Effective Communication to Prevent Diagnostic Errors
by Hardeep Singh, M.D., M.P.H., VA HSR&D Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies, Houston, Texas

Multidisciplinary interventions that take into account both technology as well as patient and provider behavior in complex care settings are needed to ensure good communication practices that lead to diagnostic error reduction...


The Case for Communication Intervention
by Bruce S. Ling, M.D., M.P.H., Core Investigator, VA HSR&D Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Development and implementation of communication interventions directed at patients and/or providers, as well as greater utilization of technology-driven approaches such as e-mail, may be beneficial in improving patient-provider communication....



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