Saving Lives with Better Communications

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, The Talking Cure for Health Care, research has long confirmed that improving communications between Doctors and their patients can actually save lives. The news prompting the article is that healthcare organizations are now taking actions based on this knowledge as a way to improve how Doctors speak with their patients.

Some of the stats that came out of research conducted by Doctors Co. indicate the lack of effective communications issue is widespread:

medical_communications_failure_rates

Here is the point I found most intriguing: This type of communication should be the MOST effective, given the setting and subject matter. If you are a patient sitting in front of your Doctor who is explaining something to you that is as important a topic as your health – don’t you think that you would be really paying attention? Given this assumption, the fact that up to 20% of all malpractice claims were derived from communications problems tells me that there are probably even greater issues in communicating effectively on other topics, which are not life and death scenarios.

Take marketing communications, for example, written by professionals trying to convey a message about value propositions, promotions or other compelling cases why a buyer should perform an action. On has to now assume that a big part of the message will likely be lost!

So, next time you venture down the path of writing a webpage, email or sales collateral, think carefully on what can be done to improve the effectiveness by simplifying what you are saying, as most likely, a big number of your readers simply won’t get it.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing communications professional and business plan adviser that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.  

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Gordon Benzie

Gordon Benzie is an analyst relations, marketing, communications, and public relations professional that is passionate about elevating brand awareness. He has had much success in establishing marketing and awareness strategies and then executing upon them with measurable results.

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