Provider Communication

A Third of Folks with Disabilities Face Healthcare Discrimination

October 12, 2023 - Four in 10 people with disabilities report unfair treatment in healthcare settings, the workplace, and in accessing public benefits, according to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute data that sheds light on how healthcare discrimination can color care experiences for this population. All said, 32 percent of adults with disabilities...


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Online Reviews Show Patients Seek Strong Patient-Provider Communication

by Sarai Rodriguez

A recent analysis of Yelp reviews shows that strong patient-provider communication is key to a good online provider review. The study, which looked at plastic surgeons in particular, also showed that...

Postpartum Care Visits Underdeliver on Heart Health Counseling

by Sarai Rodriguez

Many new mothers are being left vulnerable to poor heart health. A Northwestern Medicine study revealed that despite being at risk for heart disease, a mere 60 percent of new mothers are receiving...

Stanford Medicine Enhances LGBTQ+ Patient Care with Identity Training 

by Sarai Rodriguez

A new initiative from Stanford Medicine aims to reduce health disparities among LGBTQ people by collecting more information about gender identity and sexual orientation during patient...

OCR Settles Patient Discrimination Case About Discharge Communication

by Sarai Rodriguez

In a case that shines a spotlight on patient discrimination, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reached a settlement with MCR Health...

Patient Education Gaps Leave Women Ill-Informed About Postpartum Depression

by Sarai Rodriguez

A lack of proper patient education is leaving many women in the dark about postpartum depression. According to a recent survey, 70 percent of postpartum women reported feeling underinformed about...

Language Barriers Imperil COVID-19 Vaccine Access, Worsening Outcomes

by Sarai Rodriguez

For patients who speak languages other than English, including the millions of immigrants in the US, language barriers have hindered COVID-19 vaccine access. Consequently, these barriers impacted the...

How Spiritual Care Impacts the Mental Health of Family Caregivers

by Sarai Rodriguez

Acting as a family caregiver, who often takes on the role of surrogate decision-maker, can lead to elevated stress and anxiety caused by the patient prognosis and complex medical decisions needed to be...

Is Implicit Bias Behind Racial Disparities in Treatment Recommendation?

by Sarai Rodriguez

Unconscious, implicit bias towards Black patients may be the central factor influencing racial disparities in provider recommendations for certain treatment options, such as the removal of brain...

Shared Decision-Making Tools Show Promise for Minority Patients

by Sarai Rodriguez

.Salient findings based on a FAIR Health initiative give a glimpse into the value and utility of shared decision-making tools to patients of color. By large, shared decision-making is seen as an...

Healthcare Orgs Face Imperative to Rebuild Good Healthcare Experience

by Sara Heath

Six in 10 patients had a bad healthcare experience in the past year, leaving the door open for organizations to get a bad reputation or even lose market share, according to the latest The Beryl...

How to Improve Communication About Wait Times, Patient Satisfaction

by Sara Heath

A role like a Walmart greeter might be coming to healthcare, with new data published in the Annals of Family Medicine showing that having an employee physically present in the clinic waiting room can...

Patient-Provider Communication About Vaccines Lacking in Pediatrics

by Sara Heath

Patient-provider communication about vaccines, particularly in the pediatric setting, is falling short, with at least one in seven parents reporting in a recent C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital poll...

What Factors Sway COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Parents of Young Kids?

by Sara Heath

As of July 2022, the US has seen only 3.5 percent of kids ages six months to four years get the COVID-19 shots, underscoring deep COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among parents of young kids. The factors...

Pediatric Vaccination Adherence Hinges on Parental Vaccination Status

by Sarai Rodriguez

A new study from the Oregon Health & Science University suggests that pediatric vaccination adherence is strongly related to parental vaccination status. These findings may be an answer to quell...

Empathic Communication Key to Addressing Healthcare Discrimination

by Sara Heath

The human in touch in healthcare—helping people work around care access barriers, empathic communication, and clear healthcare communication—could all help stem the tide of healthcare...

Pediatric Patient Education Strategies for RSV, Respiratory Illness

by Sara Heath

Jonathan Miller, MD, a pediatrician with Nemours Children’s Health, is dancing his way through RSV symptom checks in an innovative approach to patient education during the nation’s RSV and respiratory illness crisis. The...

Public Health Messaging, Equity Key to Getting Flu Shots in Arms

by Sara Heath

The US will need to leverage strong public health messaging if it plans to increase rates of flu shots and combat the racial health disparities in flu vaccination and hospitalization that has plagued...

Using Shared Decision-Making to Enhance Informed Consent Conversations

by Sarai Rodriguez

When patients are tasked with making difficult medical choices, a patient decision aid (PDA), used as a part of the shared decision-making process, can be an effective strategy that boosts patient...

YouTube, KFF Promote Health Equity Through Patient Education

by Sarai Rodriguez

In partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), YouTube has launched The-IQ – tackling health equity through Information Quality, a patient education video series scaling communication...