Doctors must communicate better, says watchdog

Doctors need to become better communicators to avoid patient complaints, says the national health complaints watchdog.

Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson said ineffective or insensitive doctor-patient communication was a factor in 60 to 70 per cent of the complaints he received.

Commission and Medical Council figures for last year showed obstetricians and gynaecologists were the most common target, with about 18 complaints per 100 doctors. Orthopaedic surgeons had 15 complaints and general practitioners 12.

Speaking to the national conference of obstetricians and gynaecologists in Auckland, Mr Paterson said better communication would reduce complaints throughout the medical profession.

Doctors needed to be careful about explaining risks and be more sensitive when talking to patients.

In cases where a mistake was made, honesty was the best policy, Mr Paterson said. Patients were less likely to complain if doctors were up-front and apologetic.

He believed more communication training was needed at medical school and post-graduate levels. Students learned to see patients as bits of anatomy, and sometimes lost sight of the bigger picture.

Otago Medical School dean and Medical Council president John Campbell agreed communication was a fundamental issue but believed the situation was improving. More emphasis was being placed on communication skills in training.

Doctors were mostly good communicators, but workplace stress and time pressures sometimes made it difficult to give full explanations.

Royal College of GPs president Jim Vause said the environment made communication difficult.

"It's like trying to explain how the inside of a computer works to someone who has only ever pushed a button on the outside."

- NZPA