Diabetic patients whose doctors possess good communications skills adhere better to medicine programmes, according to a new US study.
The Diabetes Study of North California involved 9,000 patients with diabetes and used a 10-point scoring system to assess healthcare professional’s communications skills.
The researchers found that patients of healthcare professionals (HCPs) who scored low on the rating for involving patients in decisions, understanding a patient’s problems with treatment and eliciting trust and confidence were more likely to have poor adherence, compared to those with higher ratings.
“Poor communication ratings were independently associated with objectively measured inadequate cardiometabolic medication refill adherence,” said Neda Ratanawongsa, MD, MPH.
Ratanawongsa went on to say that future studies should examine whether communication interventions for HCPs with poor communication scores could improve their patient’s adherence.