Doctors Talking with Patients Patients Talking with Doctors: Improving Communication in Medical Visits - Second Edition

257 Pages·2006·0.6 MB·English

by  Debra L. Roter

Doctors Talking with
Patients/Patients
Talking with Doctors

Doctors Talking with
Patients / Patients
Talking with Doctors
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION
IN MEDICAL VISITS
SECOND EDITION
DEBRA L. ROTER & JUDITH A. HALL
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Roter, Debra.
Doctors talking with patients/patients talking with doctors : improving
communication in medical visits / Debra L. Roter and Judith A. Hall. — 2nd ed.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-275-99014-1 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-275-99017-6 (pbk : alk. paper)
1. Physician and patient. 2. Communication in medicine. I. Hall, Judith A.
II. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Communication. 2. Office Visits. 3. Physician-Patient
Relations. W 62 R843d 2006]
R727.3.R68 2006
610.69'6—dc22 2006020999
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2006 by Debra L. Roter and Judith A. Hall
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006020999
ISBN: 0-275-99014-1 (cloth)
0-275-99017-6 (pbk.)
First published in 2006
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
We dedicate this book to our spouses, Eric Waller and Fred Gordon,
and our children: Saul, Ben, and Annie Rose, and Jacob, Rebecca, and
Sarah. And, we dedicate this book to one another and the gifts of
work, inspiration, passion, humor, and fun that we have had the good
fortune to share.

Contents
Tables ix
Preface to the Second Edition xi
Part I. The Nature of the Doctor-Patient Relationship 1
1. The Significance of Talk 3
2. The Nature of the Doctor-Patient Relationship 23
3. Thinking Critically and Creatively in the Conception,
Conduct, and Interpretation of Medical Communication
Research 39
4. The Influence of Patient Characteristics on Communication
between the Doctor and the Patient 57
5. The Influence of Physician Characteristics on
Communication between the Doctor and the Patient 77
6. The Influence of Physician Gender on Communication:
Why Physician Gender (Especially) Matters in
Communication 95
Part II. What Usually Happens in Medical Visits 107
7. The Anatomy of a Medical Visit 109
8. Giving and Withholding Information: The Special
Case of Informative Talk in the Medical Visit 127
viii CONTENTS
Part III. Prospects for Improved Talk 141
9. Consequences of Talk: The Relationship between Talk
and Outcomes 143
10. Improving Talk through Interventions 165
Endnote 183
Bibliography 185
Subject Index 215
Author Index 227
Tables
2.1 Types of Doctor-Patient Relationships 26
7.1 Specific Variables Included in Physician Categories 118
7.2 Specific Variables Included in Patient Categories 118
7.3 Profile of Physician Interactions 119
7.4 Profile of Patient Interactions 119
9.1 Patients’ Satisfaction with Medical Care: Sample Items 146
9.2 Medication Checklist 154
10.1 A Patient’s Guide to Asking Questions 174
10.2 Critical Communication Skills for the Physician 180