“Internal Medicine” recently reported the benefits of specialists, primary care, and other providers keeping the lines of communications open, in certain patient-related circumstances.

When a person has been inflicted with an illness or injury that requires the attention of several varying physicians, in order to achieve optimal patient care, in terms of treatment, all physicians should be on the same page.

The “Improving Physician Communications Action Team” is one of six physician-based teams that operates from a hospital in Doylestown, Penn. The group conducted a study and found that “lack of communication between physicians can result in delayed diagnosis, medication errors, increased litigation risk, hospital readmission, and unnecessary testing. The impact on patient quality of care is direct and profound.”

A separate study in “Internal Medicine,” showed that a ‘ripple effect’ occurs in the healthcare system when “lines between the patient’s primary care physician and specialty physician are broken.”

Physician-to-physician communication often ensures that quality is sustained throughout patient interaction and impacts optimal delivery of physician services. Such actions ultimately strengthen the healthcare system.

Keep in mind that communication between physician and patient is equally as vital. According to healthcare expert David Goldberg, M.D., “patients are less likely to sue physicians if questions are answered and they are told the truth, if they are treated with compassion and empathy, and if the patient-physician relationship is preserved.”