[Omeo33] Art 1058 - Patient Edu Counseling, 2009, 77 (2), 172-178

[Gino Santini]

Elements of effective communication—Rediscoveries from homeopathy
Christiane S. Hartog

Objective - Patients are increasingly attracted to homeopathy despite  
the unproven effectiveness of homeopathic remedies. Clinical benefit  
of homeopathy may be due to communication. This review aims to  
identify and assess effective communication patterns in homeopathy.
Methods - Narrative review and synthesis of published communication  
patterns, patient narratives and the author's professional experience  
as a homeopathic practitioner.
Results - In the biomedical model, where the focus is on disease,  
communication is physician-centered with early redirection of  
patients’ concerns, and associated with reduced compliance, increasing  
risk of malpractice claims and low professional fulfillment. The  
biopsychosocial and the developing integrative medicine models are  
based on biomedicine but aim to include the whole person. Patient- 
centeredness is a behavior that elicits, respects and incorporates  
patients’ wishes, allows active patient participation and is related  
to improved outcomes. The homeopathic model is based on holism and  
comprehension of the totality of the patient and uses patient-centered  
communication with a high degree of physician co-operation, empathy,  
hopefulness, enablement and narrative competence, all of which can  
improve outcomes.
Conclusion - Both biopsychosocial and homeopathic models rely on  
patient-centered communication. Regardless of conceptual differences,  
they overlap in their common respect for the totality and  
individuality of the patient. The study of the homeopathic model shows  
that respect for the whole person is a basic requirement to entrench  
patient-centeredness more firmly in medicine.
Practice implications - Medical education should include values such  
as individual coping strategies, the benefits of a sound and healthy  
life-style and the necessity of hope and enablement. Health care  
should be redesigned to honor physicians who practice these values.

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