Redefining Communication in Healthcare: The Transformative Potential of the Informed Patient

By Catherine Richards Golini, PhD

EFFECTIVE MEDICAL COMMUNICATION is often described as the successful transfer of information from clinician to patient. In this model, much of the responsibility for success rests on the communicative skill of the clinician, while the patient is largely cast as passive recipient. But this model of communication is not only outdated, it also fails to allow for the fact that today’s patient is increasingly likely to be an informed one, thanks to digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The Digital Reality

In 2024, more than 70 percent of patients in the UK said they regularly used the Internet to source health and wellness information, with a similar percentage across most European countries. In the Netherlands, more than 90 percent of the population do so.^1-3 The use of AI for interpreting test results and symptom checking is also increasingly commonplace, particularly among younger patients. As AI becomes more accurate, and there is little doubt that it will become so, an increasing number of patients will be using ChatGPT or its equivalent ahead of, or even in place of, medical appointments.

The Evidence in Support of Informed Patients

Healthcare information is not only a patient right, but it also plays a vital role in effective patient care. Studies consistently show the positive association between being informed and a raft of healthcare measures,^4-8 and medical information can bridge communication gaps between patients and providers that time-pressured clinical encounters cannot always address. Access to healthcare information enables patients and their families to understand their health conditions, evaluate treatment options and participate meaningfully in decisions about their care — and it’s worth remembering that there can be no shared decision-making without information. Informed patients are also better equipped to manage the emotional and mental health challenges that illness inevitably brings — support that remains notoriously difficult to access through traditional healthcare channels.

Failing to Signpost to Information

Despite the overwhelming evidence supporting the benefits of patient information, our healthcare systems frequently fail to provide it.^8,9 A UK survey¹⁰ conducted by IPSOS in 2024 found that just one in 10 people living with a chronic condition had been directed toward resources by their specialist clinicians. This failure is particularly devastating for vulnerable populations: patients with rare diseases who struggle to find relevant information, those with language or cultural barriers and individuals with lower levels of health literacy who need specially designed resources to understand their care options.

And patients want information: Eight in 10 respondents to the same survey agreed that access to trusted healthcare information would help them better manage their care.

The Future of Healthcare

Our healthcare systems face unprecedented pressures: aging populations, epidemics of chronic disease, resource constraints and workforce shortages. The traditional model of disease-focused, treatment-centered care is unsustainable. Patient information in multiple formats will play a vital role in the inevitable shift toward prevention-focused, community-based care. In this new healthcare landscape, learning how to communicate with a growing body of informed patients, and signposting them to resources, will become a key skill for clinicians.

The Importance of Trusted Information

Yes, misinformation poses real risks, and AI can get things wrong. However, our preoccupation with the dangers of misinformation and AI hallucination overshadows the enormous value of another kind of information: trusted, accessible and relevant patient education. When we focus primarily on the threats of Internet-sourced information, we miss the profound benefits that informed patients bring to their own care and to the healthcare system as a whole.³

The key lies in ensuring that information is truly “trusted.” This means resources must be evidence-based, regularly updated and developed in partnership with patients themselves. Co-development ensures materials address real patient concerns, use language that resonates with the intended audience and provide practical guidance that patients can actually implement.

Training the Next Generation

Medical education must also evolve to prepare future clinicians for working with — and actively encouraging — informed patients. Instead of viewing knowledgeable patients as challenging or threatening, healthcare providers need to see them as valuable partners in the care process.

This requires training medical students how to be cognizant of relevant resources and patient advocacy groups, to understand the importance of signposting these for their patients, to engage in collaborative decision-making with their patients and to recognize that patient information enhances rather than undermines clinical expertise. In an ideal future, all healthcare providers appreciate that informed patients are not difficult patients — they are empowered patients.

Catherine Richards Golini is Patient Resource Manager at Karger Publishers. With a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Swansea University and published research on patient communication, she is also a skilled plain language writer and reviewer of plain language summaries and patient materials. With expertise in health discourse, medical communication and patient communication, Catherine also brings a wealth of experience in educational course development and language assessment. She cofounded and served as director of EALTHY, the European teachers‘ association for medical and healthcare English, demonstrating her commitment to advancing medical language education. www.karger.com