What question did this study set out to answer?

The review aims to highlight the importance of patient-centered communication in ethical clinical practice and education.

March 3, 2026Open Access

Contextualizing Clinical Communication Models for Ethical Practice: A Comprehensive Narrative Review with Implications for Health Professions Education

Key Points

The review aims to highlight the importance of patient-centered communication in ethical clinical practice and education.
Conducted a narrative review of recent studies including systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials.
Analyzed models like ICE and SPIKES for effective ethical communication.
Explored the impact of technology on communication and education in healthcare.
Patient-centered communication improves patient satisfaction and outcomes.
Simulation-based education boosts confidence in ethical communication.
Technology like AI and telehealth offers innovative communication solutions.

Abstract

• Patient-centered communication links ethics with daily clinical practice. • Telehealth, AI and VR can shape patient outcomes and satisfaction. • Simulation-based education builds confidence in ethical communication. • Classical models such as ICE and SPIKES support ethical counselling. • End-of-life care, errors, anger and disasters need team-based dialogue. Clinical ethics deals with ethical issues in clinical practice scoped through the four ethical principles, alongside professional communication, to uphold good medical practice. The aim of this review was to emphasise educational significance of patient-centred healthcare communication in clinical ethics, utilising classical, novel and technology-based approach models. A comprehensive narrative review included recent systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials and other empirical studies identified through searching PubMed and Scopus, from 1 January 2010 to 31 January 2025. Effective healthcare communication incorporates patient centeredness using verbal and non-verbal techniques. Emerging technologies influenced by the pandemic including use of video consultations, chatbots, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and virtual reality in communication, have impacted participants' satisfaction, signifying transformative innovation in medical education. Ethical issues approaches including ICE for counselling, SPIKES for breaking bad news, shared decision making (SDM) for informed consents, DNAR-related communication for medical futility, de-escalation tactics for anger and the combined approach for disasters, are found effective through patient-centred communication. This review emphasizes that ethical issues require implementation of systematic, or technology-based, evidence-based approaches that utilise contextually tailored patient-centred communication, built upon learner-centred health professions education. Therefore, engagement in patient-centred communication education requires institutional support, strengthened through development of innovative simulation-based educational strategies, and further outcome-based studies on telehealth and artificial intelligence are still needed.

Contextualizing Clinical Communication Models for Ethical Practice: A Comprehensive Narrative Review with Implications for Health Professions Education

Key Points

Abstract

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider