Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today said that poor communication was the root cause of rising incidents of conflicts between doctors and patients or their attendants.

“Poor communication is the main reason for increase in the incidences of medical conflicts” , President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan said in a statement issued here.

“Most complaints about doctors are related to issues of communication, not clinical competency”, he said.

He said that lack of proper communication is responsible for patient dissatisfaction, non-adherence to treatment and poor patient outcomes.

As per Dr Nisar, no matter how competent a clinician might be, if he or she is not able to communicate properly with the patient, he/she may be of no help.

“There is a dire need for introduction of communication skills in medical curriculum and training of practicing doctors in the form of continuing medical education (CME) programs.” He said.

Guest