Unhurried Conversations in Health Care Are More Important Than Ever: Identifying Key Communication Practices for Careful and Kind Care

PLAIN-LANGUAGE ARTICLE SUMMARY

Theory

Unhurried Conversations: An Urgent Must-Have For Patient-Centered Care 

Background and Theory Overview: The theory behind “unhurried conversations” in health care emphasizes the importance of slowing down medical interactions to enable patient care. The approach identifies behaviors that patients and clinicians could enact within the context of the health care system in which they meet to “deepen” the interaction so that participants can work together to advance the patient’s situation. The idea challenges the increasingly fast-paced nature of modern health care, which often prioritizes efficiency at the expense of care.

What is New: This article identifies and elaborates on ten observable and key micro-level patient-clinician communication practices that support unhurried conversations. It outlines specific strategies for clinicians and patients to adopt. The article also provides guidance on how health systems can enable unhurried conversations by adjusting workflows and rethinking productivity metrics to prioritize patient-centered care.

Why It Matters: In a health care system that often rushes through patient interactions, this theory offers a pathway to more thoughtful, compassionate care. By adopting unhurried conversations, clinicians can improve the quality of the care they give and of their relationships with patients in achieving care that fits. This shift should improve the ability of clinicians and patients to address each patient situation, foster patients’ feelings of being heard and understood, and allow them to work together with clinicians in forming care plans that make sense. Additionally, it supports clinicians in being better able to care well for and with their patients.

Unhurried Conversations in Health Care Are More Important Than Ever: Identifying Key Communication Practices for Careful and Kind Care

Victor M. Montori, MD, et al

Knowledge & Evaluation Research Unit, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota