Doctor-patient communication particularities during the emergency status in public health

Abstract

Introduction. Effective communication between the doctor and the patient represents an essential pillar in any field of healthcare. During the extended period of the COVID-19 pandemic, some overwhelming challenges aroused for health systems which also created communicational problems in the public health area working in emergency conditions. Purpose. Analysis of specialised literature on the subject of doctor-patient communication during the COVID-19 pandemic period and the performance quality of medical act. Material and methods. A secondary type study, qualitative research, narrative synthesis was conducted. The published sources were taken from the databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline, WHO library, InfoMedica library. Selection criteria for the needed sources included the keywords: “COVID-19”, “doctor-patient”, “public health emergency”. The synthesis included more than 40 bibliographic resources. Results. The protective measurements imposed by the state have influenced the instinctual communicational process between the doctor and the patient, entailing the need to use nonverbal and paraverbal communication. Thereby, the traditional visual contact with patients has been changed, so did its duration, therefore, affecting the efficiency of the communicational process. Conclusions. 1. The anti-pandemic measures have distorted the models of traditional communication with patients, generating a considerable decrease in patients' confidence in the positive evolution of therapeutic actions. 2. It was necessary to increase the duration and frequency of the doctorpatient communication act and to approach subjects strengthening optimism, trust in the doctor and a good mood.