Radical proposals designed to cut waiting lists would see patients being offered treatment in hospitals around the country where there is spare capacity. One way of doing this is by slashing out-patient follow up appointments after treatment in a model called ‘patient-initiated follow-up’. Instead of automatic appointments, patients would be told to only contact doctors if they had a problem. But without effective communication of the reasons behind these changes, patients were left to assume the reasons. Healthcare communication needs to switch from ‘transmit’ to ‘receive’, listening to what patients need and embracing the plethora of communication tools as wholeheartedly as it did remote appointments.

Source: The Times January 12, 2022 11:05 UTC