Patient Care, Communication, and Education
Communication that changes behavior
Patient care questions test whether you can educate without exceeding your scope. Use plain language, teach-back, and open-ended questions. Teach-back asks the patient to explain in their own words how they will take the medication-not 'Do you understand?' Motivational interviewing uses OARS: open questions, affirmations, reflections, summaries. It explores ambivalence rather than lecturing. Health literacy, culture, language, cost, transportation, and belief systems are barriers; ask about them before labeling someone nonadherent.
Know HIPAA's minimum-necessary principle: share only what the task requires. Use a qualified interpreter, not a family member, for clinical conversations. Medication reconciliation compares the patient's actual regimen with the record at transitions of care. Technicians can collect information, demonstrate devices, and reinforce teaching, but clinical counseling and therapeutic decisions belong to the pharmacist.
Traps
'Yes/no' questions and jargon create false agreement. Don't assume nonadherence is intentional; simplify the regimen and check cost first. Don't promise outcomes or recommend dose changes.
Worked example
After dispensing an inhaler, say: 'I want to make sure I explained this well. Show me how you'll use it at home, and tell me when you'll take it.' If the patient misses the priming step, re-demonstrate and re-check.