The way in which health practitioners communicate information to patients is as important as the information being communicated
[Travaline JM, Ruchinskas R, D'Alonzo GE,Jr. Patient-physician communication: why and how. J Am Osteopath Assoc 2005 Jan;105(1):13-18.]. Patients have two fundamental needs in terms of communication
, the need to know and understand and the need to feel known and understood [Ong LM, De Haes JC, Hoos AM, Lammes FB. Doctor-patient communication: a review of the literature. Soc Sci Med 1995;40(7):903-918.]. Patients who understand their diagnosis/condition are more likely to acknowledge their health problems, understand the treatment involved and modify their behaviours [Haskard KB, White MK, Williams SL, DiMatteo MR, Rosenthal R, Goldstein MG. Physician and patient communication training in primary care: effects on participation and satisfaction [corrected] [published erratum appears in HEALTH PSYCHOL 2009 Mar;28(2):263]. Health Psychol 2008 09;27(5):513-522.]. Below is a visual representation of the most effective methods of communication [[Image:Effective Communication Cycle.jpg|frame|center|150x70px]]
