Workshop - 90 Minutes

Patient Centered Care: Strategies to Communicating Effectively with Your Patients

Presenter(s)

• AH

  Alice Horowitz, Ph.D.

  Research Associate Professor, Behavioral and Community Health
  University of Maryland, School of Public Health
• 

  Sharee Clough, RDH, MS Ed

  Manager of Preventive Health Activities
  American Dental Association
• NH

  Nicole Holland, DDS, MS

  Assistant Professor
  Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

Nearly nine out of ten U.S. adults have difficulty understanding and using everyday health information that is generally available in health care facilities, retail outlets, media and communities. The average American reads at the 8th to 9th grade level. Based on these facts, there is a definite need to inform dental providers about health literacy and provide educational opportunities for providers about strategies to communicate effectively with their patients. The course will provide an introduction to several best practices in communicating effectively with patients. Presenters will discuss and demonstrate resources to analyze patient education materials; explain care recommendations so that patients are more prepared to follow recommendations; and improve communication using risk management techniques. This course will use interactive teaching techniques, including group discussion and role playing to enhance the participants’ learning experience.

 

Learning Objectives:

• Define effective provider-patient communication and explain its importance in dentistry.
• Discuss the role of communication in improving health literacy
• Describe the role of patient-provider communication in patient centered care
• Demonstrate ”teach back” techniques that will increase and confirm patients’ understanding of information provided.
• List on-line resources that can assess patient education materials.
• Describe how the use of the communication tools discussed during the course can improve patient understanding and compliance.