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| Health Care Professional and Patient Communication |
Communication is the backbone of understanding between a patient and a healthcare provider be it a physiotherapist, nurse, paramedical staff, or doctor. Without clear communication, we cannot accurately interpret the patient's concerns or symptoms. When we fail to understand what the patient is trying to convey, the medical history we record becomes incomplete or inaccurate. In turn, this leads to incorrect diagnoses and ineffective treatment.
Why Communication Matters
Communication is absolutely vital in healthcare for both patient care and patient satisfaction.
1. The Crying Child
A crying child may not be able to explain what’s wrong. As clinicians, we try to interpret the cause: is it stomach pain? Difficulty breathing? If the child was gasping at night, we suspect respiratory distress. In such cases, communication is observational reading cues, expressions, and behaviors to reach a preliminary understanding.
2. The Hesitant Adult
Consider an adult who comes to you, perhaps a man or a woman, experiencing discomfort related to urination. They’re hesitant to speak openly. You notice them glancing around the room, aware that others are nearby. They seem uncomfortable but seek eye contact an unspoken request for privacy.
This is communication too. Sometimes, patients don’t just need to be heard; they need the right environment to speak. In outpatient departments (OPDs), some patients come with questions or concerns that require privacy. Recognizing and responding to that need is part of effective communication.
3. The Unconscious or Non-verbal Patient
Now think of a patient who is unconscious, bedridden, or suffering from impaired mental function. You ask, “Mother, tell me your name,” and she only smiles. You ask her to show her tongue, but she doesn’t understand. You ask what she ate, and she can’t recall.
How do you establish communication here?
You shift to clinical tools neurological assessments:
- Is there eye movement or eye contact?
- What is the verbal response?
- How strong are the muscle movements?
- What is the limb power?
By grading these responses daily, you track whether the patient’s condition is improving or deteriorating. This non-verbal, clinical communication allows you to make judgments and clinical reasoning even when the patient cannot speak.
The Danger of Incomplete Communication
Let’s take a powerful case study.
A man brings his elderly mother to the hospital. He explains that she was fine yesterday but was found lying on the floor in the morning, complaining of leg pain. An X-ray shows a fractured leg. The doctor diagnoses a break and refers her for orthopedic surgery.
But something is missing.
Upon taking a complete history, we learn that the woman had high blood pressure for over 30 years. Her medication had run out five days earlier. She had been experiencing headaches for three days. She typically urinates twice at night. That night, she got up but never made it to the bathroom because she unable to balancing.
When the family heard the noise, they found her on the floor. She couldn’t stand so they assumed it was a simple fall. But in reality, something far more serious had occurred.
The actual issue was hypertensive bleeding in the brain. With blood pressure spiking above 220/120, a vessel in her brain ruptured. The internal bleeding affected her consciousness and motor strength, leading to a loss of balance. She fell, and in the process, broke her leg.
In this case, the leg fracture was not the primary problem it was the result of a stroke. If the full history hadn’t been taken, the patient would have undergone surgery without addressing the real, life threatening issue.
Communication and thorough history taking are critical to proper diagnosis and treatment. It’s not just about hearing words it’s about listening between the lines, observing behavior, and understanding non-verbal cues. When communication fails, treatment fails. So, whether you're in physiotherapy, nursing, medicine, or any branch of healthcare, remember this: Communication is not just a skill it's the backbone of our profession.
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