Joint Commission Offers Patient Brochure on Communicating with Physicians
The Joint Commission has launched a campaign to help patients prevent medical errors by improving communications with physicians.
The campaign includes a downloadable brochure “Understanding Your Caregivers,” which provides tips on communicating with physicians. Written in a question-and-answer format, the brochure addresses:
- What patients can do if they don't understand what their physicians are saying
- What patients can do if they still don’t understand after a physician has explained
- How patients can understand instructions related to medicines
The campaign is part of the Joint Commission’s national patient safety "Speak Up" program, which offers other downloadable brochures on issues such as preventing medication mistakes, avoiding wrong-site surgery, and recovering after leaving the hospital.
The Joint Commission accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States.
Last Updated: 5/9/2008