VIDEO: As primary care physicians, 'everything we do is state dependent'

SAN DIEGO — Physicians often rely on data to convince patients to change certain behaviors, but they can draw from a variety of resources, according to Ed A. Tori, DO, FACP.

“There are many ways, many disciplines, many domains that we can borrow from ... we can implement them to move patients to better behavior,” said Tori, associate director of the MedStar Institute for Innovation.

Tori said the biggest take-home message from his talk at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting is that “everything we do is state dependent.”

“The highest-yield thing you can do — hands down, bar none — is to manage your state. Because when you go into a patient’s room, if it’s an end-of-life discussion, that’s a very different optimal state than it is for somebody who’s been trying to get pregnant for 7 years and now they’re finally pregnant,” Tori said. “These are different states that require us to manage our state differently so that we can optimize our communication.”

Tori explores the science of persuasion and communication on his podcast — Influence Every Day — and you can also follow him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/edtori.

Reference:

• Tori EA. Optimizing behavior change in primary care: Jedi mind tricks. Presented at: ACP Internal Medicine Meeting; April 27-29, 2023; San Diego.