HJNO Jul/Aug 2021

HEALTH LITERACY Q&A Many have complained that masks are negatively impacting communication between provider and patient. How can this be combated? I know that as people who thrive on con- nection and are wired to interpret facial expressions, masks have taken a lot of get- ting used to over the past year. But they don’t have to negatively impact communication. For our hearing-impaired patients who read lips, we have clear masks for our providers to wear during their visits. Masks in gen- eral can affect the clarity of our speech, so we ask our providers to speak more slowly and with a slight increase in volume but to avoid yelling through our masks, which can be a tendency if we are not careful. We also tell our providers to smile behind the masks. The eyes definitely reflect the smile! How is the increase in telehealth affecting effective communication? When most people hear telehealth, they think of video visits, and we do several hun- dreds of thousands of those now and have special training for our providers in effective video communication. Even though a pro- vider cannot touch a patient during a video visit, we find that there can be a very strong connection made given that these do pro- vide a very close personal setting with an optimal environment for good eye contact and warm tone of voice. We use video visits in our outpatient and inpatient settings and for triage in our emergency departments. We also have several thousand patients enrolled in our digital medicine program as I mentioned earlier. This program allows for at least weekly digital or virtual connection with a provider to manage chronic medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension. What do you see on the horizon for health literacy? I see an increased attention on health literacy, an increase in digital programs to help monitor patients in environments where they may be more comfortable and more nurses in the field to help support these programs. As we find ways for more patients to become digitally connected, they will have more and more support in mak- ing healthcare decisions, so they do not feel left alone to interpret what they think they understood at the provider’s office. n 18 JUL / AUG 2021 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   “When providers connect with patients through empathy, their patients feel a sense of trust in their provider, and they become more engaged in their own care, which leads to better outcomes.”