Lessons in Healthcare Communication from "The Doctor" (1991)
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Lessons in Healthcare Communication from "The Doctor" (1991)
Introduction
” The Doctor” (1991) is a touching movie that describes the experience of a notable
surgeon, Jack MacKee, who gets a first-hand experience of the healthcare system by being a
patient diagnosed with cancer. The movie offers a realistic view of the difficulties that arise in
the process of sharing care-related information and the criticality of compassion, communication,
and patients' orientation and the focus on them. In this paper, an analysis of the following aspects
of the communication that happened in the healthcare setting will be made: the lessons learned
on healthcare communication, the negative consequences which comprise the breakdown of the
communication, and the ways to facilitate improvement of this sphere.
Lessons Learned
The Importance of Empathy in Healthcare Communication
Dr. Jack MacKee's change starts when he is exposed to the unfeeling huge white
structure, which is the medical facility he belongs to. First, he is a cold and proud surgeon, but he
changes when he becomes a patient. This shift has emphasized the essence of empathy in the
interactions that take place in the healthcare setup. Empathy as a virtue entails identifying with a
patient's emotions, which helps one gain trust with the affected patients. This worsens as we see
the indifferent and brusque treatment that the medical staff gave him, something that must make
his patients feel like this. This change enables him to perform a metamorphosis where he
changes from being a monster and instead wakes up to be more compassionate when going back
to work. It is also important to note that the ability to embrace the patient's perspective is as
critical a component of patient-centred care as knowledge about patients. Their study reported an
improvement in patient care, outcomes and satisfaction with the enhanced physician's empathy
(Hojat et al., 2011). Empathy is useful in comprehending the patient's concerns, improving
communication, and developing the doctor-patient relationship.
The Consequences of Poor Communication
Lack of communication can result in different perceptions, dissatisfaction of patients, and
sometimes complications. There are several scenes within the movie where failures in people's
interaction lead to the occurrence of adverse consequences involving the patients. There is one
scene in which Jack's surgery has been postponed, and he does not have any idea about this; he
experiences a lot of stress and anxiety in this case. His expectations about what his doctors and
therapists are doing for him are not being met, and this puts him in a position of hopelessness
each time he is denied information concerning his treatment. This underlines the need for timely
and accurate communication in enhancing patients' health and confidence in the healthcare
sector. Many a time, the anxiety of the patients tends to rise if they are not given information
about their treatment or if they are delayed, and they develop a negative attitude towards their
care providers. The Joint Commission on this identified that communication breakdowns are
rated as the cause of the Sentinel events in healthcare facilities (2015). Patients, nurses,
physicians, therapists, pharmacists, and many other healthcare workers have to rely on effective
communication to provide and coordinate safe and acceptable patient care. When managed
incorrectly, patients receive wrong treatments, wrong medications, and wrong diagnoses that can
be fatal to their health.
The Need for Clear and Honest Communication
Keeping patients well informed about their condition and the choices available to them in
treatment is about adequate information. This involves educating the clients on the results,
course of the illness, available treatments, and other related issues. In the movie, the doctor
whom Jack visits to inform him that he has cancer only inconspicuously informs him but fails to
explain the implication of his condition, and a later revelation leads to a loss of trust in the
doctor. This lifestyle points to the fact that patients demand that providers be truthful with their
patients. In a study done by Ohtaki et al. (2003), it was revealed that positive and constructive
communication has a key role in the development of trust and adequate management of patient's
health information. Receipt of accurate and truthful information promotes patients' perception of
a measure of control over their care and, hence, treatment outcomes. Suppose the patients feel
they need to be more adequately informed at each stage, and they have developed the belief that
they are not being told the truth. In that case, they are unlikely to trust their 'care-givers', and this
will directly affect their compliance with medical advice and personal responsibility for their
health.
Risks Involved in Communication Breakdowns
Significantly, when communication fails in healthcare institutions, it results in wrong
diagnosis, wrong treatment, and heightened patient's stress levels. Lack of or ineffective
communication is likely to lead to some loss of confidence from the patient's side and, therefore,
low compliance and low satisfaction. These risks are evident in the film when Jack's needed
surgery is postponed, and no one informed him of the details of the postponement; he could have
been appeased if the management had told him the reasons for the delay. Hence, according to the
World Health Organization (2009), communication breakdowns are considered as root causes of
adverse events in care delivery. The failure in communication can also be the cause of an
increased rate of errors and, thus, poor quality of care.
Solutions to Improve Healthcare Communication
To address the challenges highlighted in "The Doctor," several strategies can be implemented to
improve communication in healthcare settings:
1. Training and Education:
Every health care worker should undergo a communication course, which includes listening,
understanding the patients' feelings, and how to convey the worst news.
2. Patient-Centered Care:
Concerning the organizational communication theory, the choice of a patient-centred approach
to care delivery would improve communication and, thus, patient outcomes.
3. Use of Technology:
The use of EHRs and patient portals will help in enhancing the information exchange between
patients and different care givers.
4. Regular Feedback:
It is recommended that healthcare organizations ask patients about their experiences of their
communication encounters and apply the results acquired.
Conclusion
This paper aims to present a detailed narrative depicting the role of effective
communication in healthcare as demonstrated in the story of "The Doctor". Medical
communication breakdown and its consequences are illustrated in the movie; the importance of
understanding, truth, and clarity while interacting with patients is stressed. Therefore, through
aspects like training, patient-centeredness, and technology, healthcare organizations can make
communication better and patients' experiences appropriate. Jack's expertise and clinical
narrative have, therefore, demonstrated why effective communication is paramount in providing
people-centred, safe, and effective care.
References
Hojat, M., Louis, D. Z., Markham, F. W., Wender, R., Rabinowitz, C., & Gonnella, J. S. (2011).
Physicians' empathy and clinical outcomes for diabetic patients. Academic Medicine,
86(3), 359-364.
Ohtaki, S., Ohtaki, T., & Fetters, M. D. (2003). Doctor-patient communication: a comparison of
the USA and Japan. Family Practice, 20(3), 276-282.
The Joint Commission. (2015). Sentinel event data root causes by event type 2004–2015.
Retrieved from https://www.jointcommission.org
World Health Organization. (2009). Improving health systems and services for mental health.
World Health Organization.
