Dr. Fryer, president and chief innovation officer at Dynamic Disc Designs Corp., shared the following three things to know about communicating with patients.
1. Communication is essential to patient-centered care. “Failures in the communication process have significant implications for the patient experience,” Dr. Fryer said. Not connecting properly with patients and ensuring that they understand their condition and treatment will not only make them “grumpy” but increase the chance of litigation, and it’s not something that orthopedic and spine surgeons should ignore going forward.
“We’re more and more patient centered,” he said. “That is the future.”
2. The patient wants the diagnosis. Patients essentially want to know where and why it hurts, Dr. Fryer said. Therefore, he advises clinicians to be sure to offer a diagnosis to put the patient’s mind at ease, even if the physician isn’t 100 percent certain.
“Nail down the diagnosis,” Dr. Fryer said. “But you also want to make sure you leave room for other pain generators, just in case it doesn’t go exactly the way you want it to go.”
3. Dynamic models enhance patient understanding. Using models can help patients better comprehend their condition, Dr. Fryer said. He has gone beyond static drawings and posters and developed dynamic models based on real human spines. “You can start to link their pain generators with their dynamic motion,” he said. “There are fewer questions when they can feel it and understand it.”
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