Talking With Patients

Spoken language is the most important diagnostic and therapeutic tool in medicine, and, according to Dr. Cassell, "we must be as precise with it as a surgeon with a scalpel." In these two volumes, he analyzes doctor-patient communication and shows how doctors can use language for the maximum benefit of their patients. Throughout, Dr. Cassell stresses that patients are complex, changing, psychological, social and physical beings whose illnesses are well represented by their own communication. He proposes that both listening and speaking are arts that can be learned best when they are based on the way that spoken language functions in medicine. Accordingly, Volume I focuses on the workings of spoken language in the clinical setting. It analyzes such important aspects of speech as paralanguage (non-word phenomenon like pause, pitch, and speech rate), how patients describe themselves and their illnesses, the logic of conversation, and the levels of meanings of words. Volume II is a practical, detailed, how to guide that demonstrates the process of history taking and how the doctor can learn the most from the information that the patient has to offer. His arguments are amply illustrated in both volumes by transcripts of real interactions between patients and their doctors.

This book introduces the reader to the basic skills necessary for good communication between doctors (and other health professionals) and patients. The practical importance of such skills is outlined, making the doctor much more effective in all fields of medicine. This is not a book for the specialist reader, but aimed at all those who need to talk with patients.

More than a million patient safety incidents occur every year, and medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Illuminating the experiences of those affected by medical error—patients, their loved ones, and physicians and other medical professionals—Talking with Patients and Families about Medical Error delves deeply into the challenges of communicating honestly and openly about mistakes in medical practice. cc Based on guidelines from the Institute for Professional and Ethical Practice and the authors' own experiences, the practice-based approaches outlined here offer concrete guidance on • initiating discussions • dealing professionally and compassionately with patients' reactions • who should be included in the conversation • what information should be documented in the medical record • how to respond to questions about financial compensation Aimed at promoting resolution and healing, this book stresses the importance of clear, empathetic communication that will improve clinical and organizational responses to medical missteps and mismanagement. It emphasizes five features of the physician-patient relationship deserving of special attention: transparency, respect, accountability, continuity, and kindness (TRACK). Narrative examples of common situations demonstrate how conversations about medical error can lead to healing.

"Communication for Nurses offers valuable techniques delivered in a concise, user-friendly format that encourages reader's development of a personal, professional communication style. Topics include effective communication in difficult situations, the nurse-patient relationship, working with different patient groups and families, and communicating with other healthcare providers."-- Book Jacket.

In the twelve years since the first edition of Talking With Patients was published, contributions from relational psychoanalysis and from neuroscience have been integrated into much of the work done by self psychologists. The relational focus on the impact of the treatment relationship on the psychoanalytic process, while implicit in self psychology, is made explicit in this new edition. Additionally, the concept of implicit memory, a contribution from neuroscience, has opened the door to new ways of understanding and dealing with patients who were severely abused as children. In the second edition of Talking with Patients, the author discuss how we are guided by non-verbal cues as much as by verbal ones, and continues to expand on the idea that therapists learn how to do therapy as much from their patients as from supervisors or theories.

The author provides an introduction to patient counselling for pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists. She outlines the various ways of incorporating effective patient counselling into pharmacy practice and gives specific recommendations for developing strong counselling techniques.

Can refocusing conversations between doctors and their patients lead to better health? Despite modern medicine’s infatuation with high-tech gadgetry, the single most powerful diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which can uncover the lion’s share of illnesses. However, what patients say and what doctors hear are often two vastly different things. Patients, anxious to convey their symptoms, feel an urgency to “make their case” to their doctors. Doctors, under pressure to be efficient, multitask while patients speak and often miss the key elements. Add in stereotypes, unconscious bias, conflicting agendas, and fear of lawsuits and the risk of misdiagnosis and medical errors multiplies dangerously. Though the gulf between what patients say and what doctors hear is often wide, Dr. Danielle Ofri proves that it doesn’t have to be. Through the powerfully resonant human stories that Dr. Ofri’s writing is renowned for, she explores the high-stakes world of doctor-patient communication that we all must navigate. Reporting on the latest research studies and interviewing scholars, doctors, and patients, Dr. Ofri reveals how better communication can lead to better health for all of us.