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For oncologists, conversations with patients can be like a complex interventional procedure, especially when having to deliver bad news. Both require careful planning, execution, and use of well-developed strategies, said authors of an ASCO guideline update.
Expert panel co-chairs Timothy Gilligan, MD, of Taussig Cancer Institute of Cleveland Clinic and Calvin Chou, MD, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues, revisited ASCO's first guideline on patient communication, published in 2017, adding new communications strategies and three new topics: telehealth encounters, interprofessional communication, and boundary setting during clinical encounters.
"Natural interpersonal skills are insufficient to communicate effectively in healthcare; specific health care communication skills and practices are needed," the team wrote in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "This document provides guidance to oncology clinicians on communicating effectively to optimize patient care; the patient-clinician relationship; and the well-being of clinicians, patients, and members of patients' support networks."
Chou discussed some of the new topics and strategies in the following interview.
