Q&A: Self-disclosure can help PCPs connect with patients

Key takeaways:

Relevant self-disclosure can offer benefits to patient care, when appropriate.

For example, telling a patient about personal struggles with mental health can help improve medication adherence.

Disclosing similar mental health struggles to patients may help them overcome treatment hesitancy while building stronger patient-provider connections, an expert said.

Ohad Avny, MD, of the department of family medicine at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, recently published a reflection in Annals of Family Medicine detailing his story as a primary care provider helping a patient through anxiety and depression.

Throughout their discussions, Avny shared his personal history of mental health issues with the patient. Ultimately, his self-disclosure “successfully overcame