Doctor-Patient Communication is Critical For Medical Schedule of HIV Patients

Keeping a commitment of any kind can be difficult when stressful situations arise. However, when we neglect opportunities to improve or take care of ourselves, this not only wastes ours and others times, but it can potentially harm our health, too.

Yet, recent research regarding HIV patients and keeping to their medical schedules in order to control the disease properly shows that communication and respect are vital--to anyone for that matter--in helping stick to a necessary health routine.

"If people feel their doctor really knows them and listens to them, they feel that doctor has their best interests at heart and may be more likely to follow medical advice," says study leader Tabor E. Flickinger, M.D., M.P.H., a fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, according to a press release. "And such patients are more likely to see that doctor again, which can influence the success of treatment."

According to Flickinger, she believes that HIV is more than a just adherence to a strict medical regimen-it's also about helping patients to stick to medical appointments that play a critical role in keeping them healthy.

Researchers note that improved training in communication and interpersonal skills can possibly improve immune function and even reduce the spread of the disease.

The authors analyzed interviews completed by 1,363 patients at the Moore Clinic for HIV Care at The John Hopkins Hospital between December 2004 and June 2009, as well as data from medical records. Patients were asked about personal interactions with doctors, including how they felt they were treated.

Researchers found that those who felt they were treated better were more likely to keep scheduled appointments. They also found that 72 percent of patients with suppressed levels of the virus in their blood kept their appointments, while only 59 percent of those with unsuppressed levels of the virus did.

Overall, it's noted that only 66 percent of the patients in the study were on antiretroviral therapy. Forty-nine percent had suppressed viral loads.

"People really respond to personal respect and genuine interest," she notes, according to the research. "And our study shows that these behaviors impact treatment. The traditional model of the doctors telling you what to do and you doing it because they are the authority figure doesn't always work anymore."

The findings can be found online in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.