Issue 2 - January 2003

Communication skills build bridges and prevent malpractice suits

Ft. Lauderdale, FL – The best insurance against malpractice won’t cost you a dime, but it does take time and practice to develop. That insurance? Communication skills.

“I’ve been in practice for 40 years as a DC and have never had a malpractice suit against me, largely because of my communication skills,” Dr. Louis Sportelli, president of NCMIC, told participants at his seminar on risk management at the winter conference of the Florida Chiropractic Association. “People don’t sue people they like,” he emphasized. “Build a relationship from day one. It’s critical.”

Sportelli said that breakdowns in communication and patient dissatisfaction are key factors in malpractice suits. “Competence has nothing to do with malpractice, but consumers have no way to evaluate this,” he said. Consumer use office ambience and the doctor’s communication skills as measuring sticks for competence. “Remember, people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care,” he added.

Relationship building starts from the moment a patient steps into your office, he said. Look at the office, reception area and exam rooms through the eyes of your patients. “Make them rational and congruent with today’s thought processes,” he said. “No medical bashing, no religion-like posters and no eccentric advertisements”

Calling upon his experience as a chiropractor, Sportelli suggested a number of other ways to build relationships, improve communication skills and, not coincidentally, reduce the risk of malpractice:

•Become a healthcare coach. Patients – especially baby boomers – want to be involved in their healthcare. Ask open-ended questions to get patients to talk about their health, Sportelli advised. And don’t be in a hurry to leave the exam room. Give them time to think and talk.

•Use your business card to your advantage. Instead of the “usual” business card, use one that is folded. On the front, print your contact information. On the back, publish your mission statement. And on the inside, print “Things you want to talk about on your next visit.”

•Give out your home phone number. Don’t worry, said Sportelli, patients won’t take advantage of you. But they like knowing that they can call you.

•Give your patients a blood-pressure record card. Taking blood pressure and recording it not only in the patient’s chart but also on their personal card serves a couple purposes, he said. First, it tells the patient you care. Second, if you spot high blood pressure, you can be the “hero” and make a referral to the family MD. Third, by making a referral to the MD, you send a message about your own competency and professionalism to the MD and build a cooperative bridge in the management of the patient’s health.

The blood-pressure card also serves as an indirect marketing piece, he said. People talk about their blood pressure with friends and family. When they refer to the card – which has your name on it – for their blood pressure, they indirectly refer others to you.

•Monitor your tone of voice. The tone of your voice conveys caring or arrogance. Remember that it’s not what you say that the patient hears, but how you say it.

•Touch. Even in this politically sensitive world, touch is important counsels Sportelli.

A warm handshake or an appropriate hug goes a long way in building a relationship. People forget someone who talks to them in passing. But they remember the person who took their hand and arm and embraced them.

No doctor wants to suffer a malpractice suit, said Sportelli. Doctors who are sued incur personal isolation, feel humiliated, become depressed and often become physically ill. Communicate. It’s the key to malpractice prevention.

Source: Louis Sportelli, DC, is president of NCMIC (www.ncmic.com), a provider of chiropractic malpractice insurance to more than 33,000 doctors of chiropractic.

While you are at it, build a relationship with the MD

Medical doctors can be a source of referrals to you – but only if you build good relationships and trust. Here are some tips on building bridges with MDs:

•Send a report of findings to the MD. Get permission from the patient to communicate with the family physician (you can do this on the intake form). The report tells the MD that you care about the patient and want to be a co-manager in the patient’s health.

•Design professional stationery. The MD’s stationery isn’t “cutesy.” Neither should yours be.

•Talk the MD’s language. Don’t use jargon; be professional. State, “we share a mutual patient.” Describe what you are treating.

•Make appropriate referrals. Appropriate referrals show respect for yourself and for the MD. They also serve to protect you against malpractice. u

Source: Louis Sportelli, DC, president of NCMIC.