Good medicine begins with good communication. But what happens when doctors don’t listen?
In this revealing article from American Family Physician, Drs. Andy Lazris and Alan Roth, along with patient voices, examine how poor physician-patient communication can directly lead to medical errors, misdiagnosis, and preventable harm—especially in everyday primary care.
Based on a real case, the article illustrates how missing details about medications, lifestyle habits, and symptom interpretation led to a serious health emergency that could have been avoided with better dialogue and follow-up.
When the System Stops Listening, Patients Suffer
The case study featured in the article is more than a cautionary tale—it’s a reflection of a system that often prioritizes speed, protocol, and data entry over real patient understanding. A patient reported significant symptoms and changes in medication to multiple healthcare professionals, but none of them paused long enough to truly listen or probe further. The result? A preventable emergency and a loss of trust.
This is not an isolated event. Studies show that physicians interrupt patients within 11 seconds of them starting to speak. That momentary cutoff often causes critical context to be lost—context that could change a diagnosis, a treatment decision, or a life.
The article emphasizes the importance of:
Asking open-ended questions
Listening without bias or distraction
Verifying patient understanding and concerns
Treating communication as a core clinical skill—not an afterthought
When communication becomes transactional, patient safety is compromised. But when we reframe it as diagnostic listening, we create space for healing to begin.
What This Means for a Return to Healing
This article reinforces a major message of A Return to Healing: true healthcare reform starts not with more data or automation—but with restoring human connection in medicine. Listening with empathy, engaging in shared decision-making, and respecting patient voices aren’t just soft skills—they are clinical necessities.
When physicians create space for open dialogue, outcomes improve, costs drop, and trust is rebuilt. This piece is essential reading for providers, patients, and anyone working to bring meaning back to modern medicine.
