The modern healthcare sector is focused on effective ways of care provision to achieve better results and meet patients’ diverse demands. This approach is considered the key to the further successful development of the sphere and improvement of the health of the nation. In this regard, communication, as one of the potent tools to align cooperation with clients, assess their needs, and discuss the best possible care acquires the top priority. There are multiple models offered for working with individuals and meeting their requirements. AIDET communication process also belongs to this cohort and is considered one of the methods that help to achieve higher patient satisfaction scores and significantly improve treatment outcomes.
The selected framework is utilized today by health workers to communicate with patients and their close people during the process of treatment. AIDET is an acronym that introduces an effective method of cooperating with clients who can be anxious, nervous, vulnerable, or in complex states (AIDET patient communication, n.d.). At the same time, members of the collective working in the medical unit can also utilize this approach to communicate with each other while delivering care or providing an internal service (Braverman et al., 2015). In such a way, AIDET can be considered an appropriate alternative for other outdated ways that were previously used in the healthcare sector and demonstrated low effectiveness if to compare with this one.
The model includes such elements as the acknowledgment, introduction, duration, explanation, and “thank you”. These aspects can be explained in simple ways:
- First, a specialist should greet a patient by his/her name and make eye contact as the first impression is critical for the whole process (acknowledge).
- Second, the health worker should introduce himself/herself providing all information to the patient (introduction).
- Third, it is important to outline the time frame for tests, new examinations, and next steps (duration).
- Fourth, the specialist should ensure that he/she explains all peculiarities of treatment and answers the patient’s questions to reduce anxiety levels (explanation).
- Fifth, the worker should express gratitude for the cooperation and thank all participants of the treatment process (thank you) (AIDET patient communication, n.d.).
Observation of these rules will help to achieve better results by increasing satisfaction levels.
In accordance with recent research, AIDET shows high effectiveness while being applied to patients in the acute care environment as they have specific demands that should be fulfilled to ensure beneficial outcomes (Gordon & Street, 2017). Additionally, the utilization of this paradigm helps to align the communication and contribute to better relations between a client and a health worker. For this reason, there are new opportunities for the use of this tool in the acute care setting to attain success and assist patients in their recovery.
Altogether, the importance of AIDET communication process and opportunities provided by it stipulate the need for the further investigation of the given aspect. For this reason, the following PICOT question can be offered to achieve a better understanding of the issue:
In patients in an acute care environment (P) what effect does AIDET communication process by nurses and healthcare staff (I) compared to current communication processes (C) have on patient satisfaction scores (O) in 12 weeks (T)?
Answering this question, we will be able to improve knowledge related to the issue and understand the ways in which the offered paradigm can help to achieve better results and assist healthcare workers in providing treatment more effectively.
References
AIDET patient communication. (n.d.). Web.
Braverman, A., Kunkel, E., Katz, L., Katona, A., Heavens, T., Miller, A., & Arfaa, J. (2015). Do I buy it? How AIDET™ training changes residents’ values about patient care. Journal of Patient Experience, 2(1), 13-20. Web.
Gordon, H., & Street, R. (2017). How physicians, patients and observers compare on the use of qualitative and quantitative measures of physician-patient communication. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 39(4), 496-511. Web.