My dog's vet started using medical jargon with me.
Talking about a case heâd seen the previous day, instead of âtumourâ he described a blah blah blah.
Not the formal medical term, of course. He used the correct label, but clearly I havenât remembered what it was.
As he was talking, I couldnât help wondering why he was using technical language.
Was he showing off or did he simply not know any better?
Because if he really wanted to communicate with a layperson like me, he should have kept it simple.
Which is exactly what a team at New Zealandâs Nelson Hospital did.
60 patients were sent the standard jargon-filled letter from a doctor that described their condition and suggested treatment. The team then randomly selected 30 of these patients to get a simplified letter two weeks later.
In these letters, a âperipheral oedemaâ became âankle swelling,â âtachycardiaâ was instead described as âfast heart rate,â and âidiopathicâ was âunknown causeâ.
When surveyed*, patients were positive about this approach:
- 78% preferred the simplified letter;
- 69% said it had a positive impact on their relationship with their physician; and
- 80% reported that it increased their ability to manage their chronic health condition.
So, next time you are sharing your expertise, whether thatâs drafting a letter or talking to someone, remember that plain language is preferred.
Effective communication is about your audience, not your ego.
* If youâve been following my work, youâll know that survey responses donât always translate into real behaviour. However, signs were at least positive. The next step would be to monitor the health of these patients compared with those who received the jargon filled one and see if behaviour actually changed as a result.
Ref: A randomised crossover trial of minimising medical terminology in secondary care correspondence in patients with chronic health conditions: impact on understanding and patient reported outcomes. M. Wernick, P. Hale, N. Anticich, S. Busch, L. Merriman, B. King, T. Pegg (2016) https://doi.org/10.1111/imj.13062
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