[Communication and health]

G Ital Nefrol. 2014 Jan-Feb;31(1):gin/31.1.19.
[Article in Italian]

Abstract

The Italian State protects health because it represents one of the basic necessities of man and the essential condition for the existence and proper functioning of the social and civic life of the citizen. The health system has recently undergone a substantial spending cuts: regardless of human capital, technological and financial provision, however all hospitals must be able to meet the demands/expectations of care of the patient as a whole, made of organic needs, psychological and relational. We need to "humanize" the medical treatment. All health care workers should be prepared to "welcome/cure" the patient in the most atraumatic as possible, placing it at the center of a system that revolves around Him. Communicate effectively with a person who is going through a particular moment of his life is not so simple and immediate. In these cases, the preparation and the sensitivity of the practitioner to make a difference: it is necessary that sender and receiver are tuned to the "same wavelength. In other words, the speaker should make themselves understood adapting their speech to the hypothetical interlocutor's cognitive abilities. Proper communication is therefore an essential element of the process of patient care, today more and more able and entitled to make any judgments especially on how, type and timing of relationships with healthcare professionals.

Publication types

  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Communication*
  • Delivery of Health Care / standards*
  • Humans