What mistakes do health care professionals make when communicating about complaints?
Here are some of the most common gaffes, all of which are avoidable: • Interrupting the patient’s story. Because busy health care professionals tend to be good at fixing things, they can be prone to listening to only a few words of a complaint and then interrupt with a solution. That denies the patient the opportunity to tell the whole story. For some patients, telling the story and having someone listen is ACTUALLY more important than the solution. • Defensive responses. Defending your position keeps you from listening to the patient and shuts the door to further communication. Don’t disagree until you’ve heard the whole story and understood the patient’s meaning. If you do disagree, find something that the patient is right about. Saying, “You’re right – the phone could be answered sooner” gives no reason for a counter-argument, whereas a defensive response does. • Getting into a contest of right vs. wrong. The opportunity for patient satisfaction diminishes if a patient loses face du
