Six Rules of Doctor Etiquette

From the Wall Street Journal Health Blog:

Kahn, who lays out the idea in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, cites the work of Peter Pronovost, a Johns Hopkins doc who came up with a straightforward checklist to reduce infections in the ICU. “The results of this simple intervention were swift and dramatically effective,” Kahn writes, adding that similar checklists might go a long way toward improving doctor-patient relations.

As an example, Kahn suggests this checklist, which would apply to the first-time encounter between a doctor and a hospitalized patient:

1. Ask permission to enter the room; wait for an answer.

2. Introduce yourself, showing ID badge.

3. Shake hands (wear glove if needed).

4. Sit down. Smile if appropriate.

5. Briefly explain your role on the team.

6. Ask the patient how he or she is feeling about being in the hospital.

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