The Language Of Caring Guide for Physicians: Communication Essentials for Patient-Centered Care

PHILADELPHIA, March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A new book to help physicians better communicate with their patients is getting great reviews from both Doctors and health care administrators.

Wendy Leebov, EdD, and Carla Rotering, MD, are the co-authors of The Language of Caring Guide For Physicians: Communication Essentials For Patient-Centered Care (ISBN 978-0-9882587-0-9, 201) http://www.quality-patient-experience.com/book

Rotering served as a medical leader and mentor to fellow physicians and medical students. Leebov, a breast-cancer survivor, was a bedside supporter of dying relatives and a "mystery shopper" at an emergency department to gain insight into patient experiences. Both have provided extensive training to physicians and health care administrators on patient-centered care.

Grounded in comprehensive research on best communication practices for physicians, The Language of Caring Guide For Physicians describes the communication skills key to patient-centered care, the unparalleled patient and family experience, positive clinical outcomes, and optimal pay-for-performance.

"By employing the concrete Rules of Thumb in our Guide for each competency," says Leebov, "physicians can better fulfill their professional caring mission and find greater personal fulfillment from the practice of medicine."

Dr. Rotering, a physician with a respected medical practice, is Vice President of Physician Services of the Leebov Golde Group with offices in Boynton Beach, Florida, St. Louis and Phoenix. Leebov is President and CEO of the Leebov Golde Group.

Leebov Golde Group is a team of dynamic, experienced professionals who care deeply about creating great patient and family experiences and creating great places to work in the healthcare field. The Group exists to provide implementation support, leadership development, training and coaching to help organizations provide healing experiences and achieve optimal results for patients.

The authors stress that these are challenging times as physicians deal with Accountable Care Organizations, Value-Based Purchasing, required patient surveys, patient-care standards, the added challenges of the Affordable Health Care Act and malpractice lawsuits.

"The quality of doctor-patient communication has a far-reaching impact on scores, outcomes, public perception, reputation, pay, job satisfaction and much more," stresses Dr. Rotering. "To thrive in the face of today's challenges, excellent physician communication with patients and families is pivotal."

Key points in the highly-acclaimed The Language of Caring Guide For Physicians:

• Physician communication is the number one factor most highly correlated with patients' likelihood of returning to a hospital or medical practice.
• Communication problems cause the vast majority of malpractice lawsuits.
• Effective patient-centered communication by physicians improves adherence to recommended treatment and in improved patient outcomes for diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
• Physicians who communicate well with their patients find their work less stressful.

Leebov Golde Group clients include healthcare organizations large and small, including systems, integrated networks, academic medical centers, Veteran Administration hospitals, community hospitals, for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals, faith-based organizations, medical practices, long-term care facilities and health plans. Their clients have demonstrated breakthrough improvements in CAHPS survey performance and employee engagement. For more information visit: http://www.quality-patient-experience.com

Media Contact: Scott Lorenz, President of Westwind Communications Book Marketing, 734-667-2090 or [email protected]

SOURCE Leebov Golde Group