From Monologue to Dialogue: The Pursuit of Relationship Centered Communication Across a Large, Integrated Healthcare System

Abstract

By listening to the “voice” of patients, Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare organization, took an evidence-based approach to empowering physicians and advanced care providers. The Relationship Centered Communication course utilizes experiential learning to strengthen patient-centered communication and empathy skills to elicit provider–patient relationships grounded in partnership. This case study highlights (1) The pragmatic cultural journey requiring visionary leadership, strong collaborations, and an evolving educational strategy. (2) Over the course of 6 years, 3300+ providers were educated in this evidence-based communication course. (3) As a result, Northwell's Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems “Communication with Doctors” domain has increased by 22 percentile rank points, when compared nationally to peers, in addition to other notable patient experience metric improvements within ambulatory medical practice.