A Partial List of Ways to Invest in Relationship During Telehealth Encounters (That We Realized Might be Widely Applicable During Many Kinds of Visits)
| Respecting patient’s need for easy access |
| Multimodal methods of communication |
| Respecting my need for easy access—timing |
| Starting where people are |
| Considering cost and patient’s ability to pay |
| Virtual presence-focused attention even if physically remote |
| Offer options to customize communication, such as being seen or just hearing |
| Look for ways to help the patient feel understood and heard, such as summarizing |
| Listening carefully to the patient’s experience |
| Bringing any available background knowledge of the specific patient situation |
| Questions that are on point, appropriate to the situation and visit type |
| Getting to what is important |
| Showing expertise, getting to the bottom of things builds trust |
| Showing a receptive, not rushed, tone |
| Providing contingency plans and options relevant to the patient’s situation |
| Offering non-medical treatment options (eg, food, activities) |
| Treating the patient as an individual, not just working through a protocol |
| Asking for context |
| Asking open-ended questions |
| Feeling empathy |
| Attending to emotions |
| Not blaming |
| Offer multiple treatment options, things to try, and a path forward |
| Offering hope |
| Find something the patient has done right and praising it |
| Explaining in easy language |
| Asking, “Is there anything else?” |
| Finding out why this matters to me now and how |
| Normalizing the patient’s experience when possible |
| Working to get on the same page—doctor and patient |
| Taking what we can learn from good call-centers and customer service industries |
| Systems that empower the clinician and patient with time and a full range of options |
| Power sharing. Being non-judgmental |
| Explicitly acknowledging time limitations and then prioritizing based on attending to both what the patient feels is important and what is important from a biopsychosocial perspective |
| Tying it together for the person—being understood |
| Working to get to a shared goal |
| If both patient and clinician feel connection after the visit, they bring something positive to the next encounter—building a community of expectations |