Study of Effective Communication Skills Among Medical Practitioners of Raichur District, North Karnataka: A Cross-sectional Study

Effective communication is an essential part of building and maintaining good physician-patient and physician-colleague relationships. It has been shown to significantly impact patients’ satisfaction, care, and further, to improve healthcare outcomes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the attitude of medical practitioners in the Raichur district toward effective communication in practice. It was a cross-sectional study undertaken at the urban field practice area of Navodaya Medical College, Raichur. The study included a total of 60 medical practitioners from private and government hospitals. All participants were invited to participate in the study during December 2020. The majority of the participants have a positive opinion toward greeting the patient (86.7%), informed consent (86.7%), confidentiality (90%), and explaining the medication doses (93.4%). The age of the medical practitioners was significantly associated with effective communication skills ( P < .005). Other factors like gender and years of practice were not significant. Physician communication skills are critical in gaining patients’ happiness and confidence in their doctors. Initiatives and training to generate a trained workforce might strengthen doctor-patient relationships, reducing future healthcare system disagreements and institutional mistakes.