Patient safety is a condition for providing quality basic healthcare services. There is no doubt that quality healthcare services around the world should be effective, safe, and focused on people’s needs. In addition, high-quality healthcare involves providing timely, equitable, comprehensive, and effective services. The peculiarity of interaction with patients lies in the fact that a doctor should be able to distinguish such far-fetched conflicts that have appeared from ” space” from conflicts that have arisen on serious grounds.
Therefore, in any case, the problem needs to be treated critically, to understand it and, if necessary, to take measures to eliminate the shortcomings of treatment. However, if this cannot be avoided, then the doctor should resolve the problem as soon as possible and try to avoid such moments in the future (Mikalef et al., 2019). It is recommended to familiarize all employees of the medical institution with the theory of mutual expectations. The behavior of all employees must comply with the uniform rules of communication with visitors (Manita, 2019). To do this, everyone must have basic knowledge about the specifics of interaction with patients, so it is necessary to train employees in effective communication technologies with the patient using real examples.
Perhaps the most important means of caring for the patient and her family remains effective communication. Communicating information about the diagnosis, prognosis, risks and benefits of treatment, and disease progression is a complex and unavoidable medical duty (Farokhzadian et al., 2018). It takes experience, a sense of compassion, and the ability to empathize to communicate unpleasant information and answer questions (Reddy et al., 2019). Unfortunately, to date, the acquisition of these skills is not provided for in the training of students and doctors, even though many reputable medical institutions and societies, such as ASCO, ACS, and NCI, require skill and active attention when communicating with patients with progressive oncological diseases.
It is important to remember that an overly persistent attempt by the doctor to convince the patient of the likelihood of a full recovery can harm her idea of her illness and spoil the relationship between them, which should be maintained at a good level throughout palliative care or future care (Zhou et al., 2020). Thus, it is possible to keep the patient’s hope with the help of sincere but cautious optimism, compassion, and understanding of the vulnerability that is characteristic of all patients with cancer.
As part of a patient- and family-oriented approach, the doctor communicates information in a way that meets the needs of the patient and his or her loved ones. These needs are determined based on the cultural, spiritual, and religious beliefs of the patients and their relatives, as well as the traditions they adhere to. When reporting information with this in mind, the doctor must make sure that the patient has understood it correctly, as well as show empathy (Gilbert et al., 2020). This is the difference between this approach and a purely emotional one, characterized by the fact that the doctor emphasizes the sad nature of the news and shows sympathy and empathy in excess (Haarbrandt et al., 2018). This approach is the least encouraging for the patient and hinders the effective exchange of information.
When doctors are uncomfortable reporting bad news, they may avoid discussing disturbing information, such as a poor prognosis, or convey unjustified optimism to the patient. A plan for determining the patient’s life values, and desires for participation in decision-making, as well as strategies for drawing attention to the patient’s experiences, can increase the doctor’s confidence in reporting unfavorable medical information. It can also push the patient to participate in making difficult treatment decisions, especially when there is a low probability that antitumor therapy will be effective. Finally, doctors who will experience less anxiety when reporting bad news will be less susceptible to stress and emotional burnout.
References
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