Health Communication Settings

The hospital setting. Let’s look at hospitals first. In hospitals, there are frequently groups of medical professionals who are charged with the care of specific patients. These groups will make decisions about length of stay, nutrition, testing, and techniques to be performed. Some of these people form a diagnostic-related group. This is a collection of people who make key decisions about your condition and the way to treat it appropriately. When communicating with any of these people, it is important to realize each person will have his or her own goals and these goals may conflict with what you and your relatives or partners may want. Additionally, if you find yourself in a teaching hospital, medical students frequently make rounds with the staff physicians. This means you will have five or six students and a physician asking you questions about your medical condition, but also talking to each other. This can be confusing for some people. You do have a right to request that only your doctor see you or be there during a medical exam.