November 15, 2016
Why communication between doctor and patient is the most critical element of medical care.Ofri (New York Univ. School of Medicine) is not only a practicing clinician, but an author (What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine, 2013, etc.) and editor-in-chief of the Bellevue Literary Review. Her revealing doctor-patient stories often make her seem like the doctor that every patient wishes they had, and she draws on patient accounts to illustrate the problems that can arise in communication between doctor and patient. This book, however, goes far beyond Ofri's personal experiences with patients. She delves into the relevant research on communication, citing some ingenious experiments on listening. Studies show that the better the listener, the better the speaker, and listening is one of the hardest skills that a doctor has to master. But it can be taught, and Ofri reports that medical schools across the country are developing formal curricula to that end. However, patients, the author asserts, are the best teachers in that department, and the many stories she includes about her own struggles to communicate bear this out. In one case, she spent many visits with a patient who could not cope with multiple pills for a host of chronic conditions before discovering that all her carefully written schedules telling him when to take what were totally useless: he revealed to her that he had never learned to read. Although Ofri focuses on what doctors can do to be better communicators--e.g., focus on the patient and shut up "at least a little bit"--she offers advice to patients as well (insist on adequate time to tell your story, and prioritize what you want to talk about).A much-needed, convincing argument that, regarding doctor-patient communication, the stakes are very high and that what patients say is all too often not what doctors hear--and vice versa.
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February 1, 2017
The most important factor in getting good health care is communication between doctor and patient. Ofri (medicine, New York Univ.) has been practicing at New York City's Bellevue Hospital for more than 20 years. She uses case histories from her own experience as well as those contributed by colleagues to illustrate what can go wrong when communication fails. She also shows what works and discusses research into doctor-patient communication. Given the time crunch that doctors face and that patients feel intimidated and rushed during their appointments, the potential for frustration, medical error, and poor relationships is high. Ofri says that this does not have to be the case. By identifying the barriers that prevent effective communication and taking steps to remove them when possible, both doctor-patient interactions and clinical outcomes will improve. Ofri's honest, open comments about her own failures and successes will educate physicians and patients. VERDICT Anyone interested in health care will learn a great deal from reading this book.--Barbara Bibel, formerly Oakland P.L.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 1, 2016
It may sound old-fashioned, but when it comes to encounters between doctors and patients, talk (the medical interview) and touch (the physical exam) trump technology. The narrative of illness that patients tell their doctors is critically important. The medical history remains the principal diagnostic instrument for physicians. Yet Ofri (What Doctors Feel, 2013), a Bellevue Hospital internist, cautions that the story the patient tells and the story the doctor hears are often not the same thing. Such a disconnect can be hazardous to health. Data suggests that medical conversations have major clinical consequencesfor better or worse. Ofri combines research on the topic; stories about patients (some complicated, difficult, noncompliant); and interviews to make her case. Patients want their doctor to be competent but seek morea person whom they can trust and someone who will listen. Doctors should be attentive, empathic, respectful, deft in dialogue, and comforting. Ofri summarizes, Doctors need to be fully focused on what the patient is saying because that's where nearly everything medically relevant resides. Sounds like sensible medical advice for all involved.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)