In Part 3 of our 4-part miniseries on communication in public health, Samantha Cinnick from the Health Resources and Services Administration tells her story of shifting a negative narrative with an important question. Welcome to Part 3 of our 4-part series on communication in public health. This one is really about the power of questions, [...]

It’s great that ‘equity lenses’ is a concept that’s made it into wider use. Here’s one important question I'm going to suggest you keep in mind if you decide to put on equity lenses. There's a phrase I’m seeing crop up more and more in equity and health equity conversations, and it's "equity lenses" or [...]

Collaboration brings its own communication challenges. Hear Samantha Cinnick tell the story of the launch of a new Innovation Lab, and what was learned about communication in that collaborative space. In part 2 of our 4 part series on communication in public health, Samantha Cinnick from Health Resources and Services Administration tells the story about [...]

When it comes to health equity, everybody knows where they need to be, and wants to take action. But how? Here’s 5 reasons why communication should be part of any health equity strategy. Hello Partners, welcome! If you're a manager or an administrator who's tasked with moving the needle on health equity, or if you're [...]

In Part 1 of a 4 part miniseries, Samantha Cinnick of the Health Resources and Services Administration talks about some of the communication challenges involved when people collaborate to bring about systems change. What she shares can be helpful for anyone who wants to communicate better with their colleagues. Today I kick off a 4 [...]

This episode is about moving from talk about health equity to action on health equity. Hear about common challenges in doing health equity work. And we announce a new miniseries dedicated to communication in public health. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Today's episode is about moving from talk about health equity to action on health equity. You'll learn [...]

Starting a meeting with a reflection is a powerfully humanizing move. In this episode, I share a short passage about communication that would be appropriate to open any meeting, for any audience. It invites us to see connections between words and thoughts, and consider their impact on our relationships and world. The idea for this [...]

Everyone I meet in health care and public health wants to do well at their job, and move the needle on health equity. The problem is that when it comes to professional development, too often stand-alone, one-time courses are all people get. Here’s why they don’t work at making change. As an educator, one of [...]

Large sets of quantitative data are irreplacable resources in medicine and public health. But there are many important questions large data sets weren’t designed to answer, questions where on-the-ground research is needed. In this episode, I sample some crucial contributions ethnography has made to what we know about the influence of context on thinking, communication, [...]

Patient screenings are widely used in medicine and public health. A public health program administrator in California shares what she and her colleagues are learning from taking a close look at screenings. Screenings for patients are important tools. They're ubiquitous in medicine and public health. But they're not without their challenges, for professionals and for [...]

I take a close look at The Surgeon General’s Framework for Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace and see that it’s not what we’re used to…and that’s a good thing. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT In October of 2022, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released Framework for Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace. In [...]

Health literacy is still going strong as a field, and continues to be at the center of many policies and practices. Here’s four sometimes-overlooked reasons to feel good about health literacy. TRANSCRIPT Health literacy is not going away! In this episode, I'll talk about several reasons to be happy about the patient safety and quality [...]

It’s the countdown time of year! Here’s our Top 10 most downloaded episodes of “10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication” from 2022. You’re reflective. You get how much communication is connected to equity. You get how the ways we educate are connected to equity. You’re the best audience there is! You’re the rockstars. And here [...]

It’s a paradox that rare diseases are not so rare; one in ten people has a rare disease. Yet each rare disease, and each person’s experience with a rare disease, is different. This makes for complex communication with family and health professionals. Hear how Dr. Paul Ranelli uses the arts to delve into the complexities [...]

A few health professionals recently shared stories of pushback from colleagues regarding health literacy. Learn how you can respond to the next person who believes health literacy is just about medical terms. In this episode, I take up a problem expressed recently by a few health professionals who were frustrated by some pushback they were [...]

Every 2 weeks for 5 years, “10 Minutes to Better Patient Communication” has been bringing you new avenues into health communication, patient education and health literacy. Find out how one physician answered the question “what is health literacy,” and hear the new sound we got for our birthday! Happy Birthday, “10 Minutes!” For 5 years, [...]

If you care about health literacy, in this episode you’ll learn why busting the myth that literacy is a skill can help you in your work–and what you can do instead. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT It's health literacy month again, so here's another look at some literacy myths. If you care about health literacy, I'll tell you [...]

What is the past–and future–of health equity research, theory, practice, and policy? Comments from an oncologist kick off some thinking. I recently had an interesting conversation with an oncologist about health equity and communication. It got me going back and forth in time. I want to share some of what we talked about, in hopes [...]

I’ve been reflecting on the stories different people have shared with me about talking with patients. Whether from hospital staff, community health workers, or medical staff, these stories have important things in common. This is some of what I appreciate about you and the complexity of the work you do. So many people now are [...]

No, really. There are important differences between the terms “pee-pee” and “urine.” Here’s what they are, and why anyone who cares about patient communication and education should take these differences seriously. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Aww shucks. It's happened. I got COVID. And the timing! Last episode we made our big announcement, our new course platform and [...]

We have two big announcements: our brand new, dedicated course platform, and a new communication course for anyone who interacts with patients. Learn more about them both! Today’s the day. For months I've been saying we have a big announcement to make, and today I finally get to share it with you. Really excited about [...]

Dr. Jonas Attilus was recently featured in a STAT News article. Dr. Attilus visited our show last year and talked about humility and power when physicians speak with patients. Hear about the article, and listen to his interview. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT At the start of 2021, we aired my interview with Dr. Jonas Attilus about humility [...]

If Women’s Health is on your mind, you’ll want to take this free online course from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services called "Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Maternal Health Care." I preview it, and show you a cool design trick they embed to make it more accessible – and efficient. The [...]

The New York City Department of Health has a language use guide on its site. I preview it, and tell you 5 reasons why you should check it out. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT The NYC Department of Health has a language use guide on its site. A language use guide! From major health department! As a researcher [...]

CMS has a free online course called "Improving Health Care Quality for LGBTQ People." Here’s 4 reasons you should take it! I'm grateful that there are so many resources out there if you care about health equity and communication. In honor of Pride month, I'm going to highlight one of them: a free online course [...]