Doctors Talking with Patients/Patients Talking with Doctors: Improving Communication in Medical Visits, 2d ed.

• Position: Book review

Roter, Debra L. & Judith A. Hall. Doctors Talking with Patients/Patients Talking with Doctors: Improving Communication in Medical Visits, 2nd ed. Westport, Conn.: Praeger publishers, 2006; www.praeger.com.

Since the publication of the first edition of this book fifteen years ago, medicine has undergone a transformation. Unlike the earlier revolutions in medicine, spurred by advances in technology and pharmacology, the current transformation has been driven by a political, professional, and scientific dialogue on health care quality, medical errors, health care financing, and health care delivery systems. In the past several years, three Institute of Medicine reports have included a primary focus on the nature and quality of medical communication (Institute of Medicine, 1999, 2001,2003). Moreover, health communication objectives are included in the surgeon general's Healthy People 2010 objectives for the nation (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). Related to these national reports, unprecedented reforms in medical education have been promulgated by the professions accrediting and credentialing bodies. Beginning in 2002, the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) added competency requirements for graduates in six core skills, including interpersonal communication. The significance of these changes has reverberated across the medical education spectrum; virtually every training institution in...