Patients tend to listen to doctor's orders

Last week I discussed the prevalence of poor communication between doctors and patients and how it can compromise the quality of health care. Doctors can give the impression they are too busy, too preoccupied to really listen to what the patient has to say. And patients can mislead doctors, telling them what they think they want to hear instead of the truth, or they hide their feelings and say nothing. In other words, there is plenty of blame to go around, and both sides can contribute to poor communication. This is especially the case when it comes to preventive medicine and the need to make lifestyle changes.