Measuring Patient-Centered Communication for Colorectal Cancer Care and Research [Methods Study], North Carolina, 2013-2018

Patients are often more satisfied with care when it matches their goals. To provide care that matches what matters to patients, doctors and other clinical staff need to communicate well with patients so they can learn about their needs and concerns. Healthcare organizations can use patient surveys to measure how well clinicians communicate with patients. To be useful, a survey needs to be

Valid, or correctly capturing how well doctors communicate
Reliable, or getting the same results over time

In this study, the research team created and tested a survey for patients getting care for colorectal cancer that asked about communication between the patient and their care team.