key: cord-0981090-bliz58ix authors: Gardner, Alvin; Millwater, James title: The Psychological Effects of Physicians’ Communication Skills on COVID-19 Patients [Letter] date: 2021-05-26 journal: Patient Prefer Adherence DOI: 10.2147/ppa.s320134 sha: 9a8b4f4af8b94ef5139ec7b1598672c4ba8bffb3 doc_id: 981090 cord_uid: bliz58ix nan The study would also benefit from demonstration of specific communication examples used by physicians in the discussion, through thematic analysis. This would improve the utility of the study to medical educators with respect to educating healthcare professionals about how to facilitate effective patient interaction to better patient outcomes. For example, the use of thematic analysis by Amelung et al showcases clear examples of effective communication skills utilised to benefit both physical and psychological patient outcomes. 5 We believe these changes to the study would provide more robust conclusions about physician communication during Covid-19 and its impact on patient experiencewhich could then be utilised by medical educators in the future. Despite this, the authors are to be commended on their exploration of a vital aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic and physician communication skills, which remain a neglected aspect of medical education. Dove Medical Press encourages responsible, free and frank academic debate. The content of the Patient Preference and Adherence 'letters to the editor' section does not necessarily represent the views of Dove Medical Press, its officers, agents, employees, related entities or the Patient Preference and Adherence editors. While all reasonable steps have been taken to confirm the content of each letter, Dove Medical Press accepts no liability in respect of the content of any letter, nor is it responsible for the content and accuracy of any letter to the editor. Patient Preference and Adherence is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal that focusing on the growing importance of patient preference and adherence throughout the therapeutic continuum. Patient satisfaction, acceptability, quality of life, compliance, persistence and their role in developing new therapeutic modalities and compounds to optimize clinical outcomes for existing disease states are major areas of interest for the journal. This journal has been accepted for indexing on PubMed Central. The manuscript management system is completely online and includes a very quick and fair peer-review system, which is all easy to use. Visit http:// www.dovepress.com/testimonials.php to read real quotes from published authors. A qualitative systematic review of internal and external influences on shared decision-making in all health care settings The psychological effect of physicians' communication skills on Covid-19 patients Non-response bias versus response bias The psychology of acquiescence: an interpretation of research evidence Influence of doctor-patient conversations on behaviours of patients presenting to primary care with new or persistent symptoms: a video observation study The authors reported no conflicts of interest for this communication.