A Clinical Communication Strategy to Enhance Effectiveness and CAHPS Scores: The ALERT Model.

The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) program is a national annual report that surveys patients and rates health plans on a variety of metrics, including claims processing, customer service, office staff helpfulness, and ability to get needed care. Although physicians may feel they have no immediate control over many aspects of this questionnaire, there is an important area of the survey where they do have direct control: "how well the doctor communicates."It is well established that effective physician-patient communication has beneficial effects not only on physician and patient satisfaction but also on adherence to medical advice, diagnostic accuracy, and malpractice risk.

Discussing health care costs with patients: an opportunity for empathic communication.

Escalating health care costs are affecting patients across the country. As employers and insurance companies face higher expenses, they may move to a cost-sharing strategy, which potentially increases financial burdens on patients. In this situation, physicians may find themselves serving as both medical and financial advisors for their patients.

From standardized patient to care actor: evolution of a teaching methodology.

Standardized patients have been utilized for nearly 40 years in teaching medical curricula. Since the introduction of this teaching methodology in the early 1960s, the use of standardized patients has steadily gained acceptance and is now incorporated into medical education across the country. This "standardization" was useful for teaching and evaluating medical students and residents.