How Communications Between Physician and Patient Affect Concordance, Compliance, and Patient Safety in a Canadian Setting

Our study focuses on health care communications and how it affects patient safety. Although the heart of our study is an examination of the core physician/patient relationship, we also integrate systematic factors beyond the dyadic encounter that have a direct bearing on communications, patient safety, and health outcomes. These additional factors are the interface with the health care system and public health. For this reason, we emphasize that methods and approaches to improve patient safety require the involvement of clinicians, patients, public health practitioners, and policy makers actively working together to reduce patient safety errors and violations.