Walk into most waiting rooms, you’ve undoubtedly noticed a big screen (or screens) playing videos while most everyone is thumbing it on their smartphones. Like everywhere else, communication has gone digital in the opthalmology.

But smart phones, IPads and TV screens haven’t replaced the good old fashioned face-to-face interaction between patient and healthcare practitioners. A recent survey by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that when physicians share information through conversation with their patients it helps build a rapport that allows patients to feel empowered enough to discuss most anything.

Many brands use the opportunity of this special relationship to introduce their products to patients in a much more personal way than a TV commercial or website, so if doctors have a good understanding of the product’s benefits, they become more likely to recommend the product. And if a doctor provides information, samples or coupons for a particular product, the patient is much more likely to purchase that product.

Bottom line? Even in this digital age, nothing has replaced the simple conversation between physician and patient as the most effective method of communication.