You are currently here:  You are here   How can health care
professionals improve verbal communication with patients and
families?  The average consumer is not familiar with health
terminology and does not think about health information in the
same way as health professionals. Patients don’t understand or
forget at least 50% of what is discussed in a typical office
visit.15  There are many simple techniques to improve verbal
health communication, such as    • assessing patients’ baseline
understanding   • using plain language   • effectively
soliciting questions   • using teach-back to confirm
understanding   • focusing on a few key points   • giving
patients clearly written information to take home     1. Assess
patients’ baseline understanding before providing extensive
information. This allows the explanation to be tailored to the
patients’ needs.     1. Example: For a patient just diagnosed
with diabetes, you can state, "before we go on, could you tell
me what you already know about diabetes?"   2. Explai