The primary takeaway from Hirschmann (1999) is
a) Providers should assess patient health literacy and tailor their communication to their patients' level of understanding.
b) Providers need to do more to be empathetic to their patients and individualize their care.
c) Providers need to use patient-centered approaches in their interactions.
d) Health communication theory and research needs to account for the importance of context and consider the many challenges that providers face when delivering patient care in hospital settings.