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Connecting with patients during COVID-19

Are you struggling with how to better connect with patients during the COVID-19 pandemic? Do you feel your PPE comes between you and your patients? Are you wondering how best to communicate with patients and their families when you cannot all be in the same room?

You’re not the only one.  

With the help of two Texas physicians and TeamHealth, you can learn best practices to communicate during COVID-19. Connecting in Crisis: Patient Experience During COVID-19, a 20-minute video featuring Texas physicians Wilfredo Rivera, MD and Benjamin Lo, MD, offers solutions on how physicians can support safe, productive patient experiences in the COVID era.

Issues discussed in the video include: 

  • Overcoming the intimidating and restricting effects of PPE.
  • Remembering how challenging this environment is for patients and families and increasing empathy to ease patient suffering.
  • Not taking for granted that patients know why their family members are not allowed to visit or why different, new techniques are being tried by physicians.

The video also emphasizes the importance of communication.

“Communication remains key. So, ideas like calling the patient's room to get a history before your visit will allow you to focus that encounter on the physical exam and finalizing the plan,” says Dr. Rivera in the video. “It will prevent you from feeling rushed and feeling like you need to just wrap up and get out of there. Consider also calling the patient's room to give updates when tests are resulted. You don't necessarily need to go physically into the patient room again.”

“Also, along those lines, if you're able, call the patient's loved ones to provide them with updates,” Rivera says.

View the full video here: Connecting in Crisis: Patient Experience During COVID-19.