Dr Allan Gibofsky Explains Causes of RA Patient-Physician Communication Gaps

A worldwide study of rheumatoid arthritis patients and providers found that they often focus on separate goals, which can lead to a disconnect in communication, according to Allan Gibofsky, MD, professor of medicine and public health at Weill Cornell Medical College and an attending rheumatologist at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Transcript (slightly modified)

What is the significance of the findings from your study on patient and provider surveys?

The Rheumatoid Arthritis Narrative, or the RA Narrative, was a global initiative involving a number of countries in all parts of the world. What was particularly interesting was that many of the findings we found were the same in all countries that we looked at, both patients and physicians. In particular, the difficulty that patients often have in communicating with their physicians appears to be the primary concern that they have.

I think in large part, that’s because our focus and their focus tends to be different. We focus on whether a medication is working and whether or not they have side effects from it. Patients focus on whether or not they’re able to participate in their activities of daily living and take care of their family, and there’s often a disconnect between those 2 aims.

So I think what the RA Narrative really pointed out is that there is an increased need for communication between patients and providers regardless of where in the world they are and regardless of how much or, sadly, how little time is allocated for the visit.