Talking to Your Doctor: A Patient's Guide to Communication in the Exam Room and Beyond

by Zackary Berger

Overview

The last time you went to your doctor, you might have emerged feeling dissatisfied and disoriented. Nothing was clear after you left the office, and you don’t know whether it’s your fault or the doctor’s. While patients need to take control of the visit and set their agenda, the latest research shows that doctors and patients need to connect on a more emotional level as well.

In Talking to Your Doctor, readers will learn to:

• Talk to your doctor—and get your doctor to talk to you
• Remake the relationship with your doctor, and our health care system, on the basis of good communication
• Make sure your visit with the doctor is productive and meets your needs
• Help yourself and others avoid over-testing and over-treatment

Starting with the conversation can redress imbalances and put the relationship of doctor and patient, and eventually the entire health care system, back on a healthy footing. Using illuminating model dialogues, real transcripts from the clinic and hospital, resources for communication improvement, and a brief history of doctor-patient communication, the author helps readers develop strategies for obtaining better care from their doctors, from the minute they step into the exam room.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442248656
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/08/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Zackary Berger, MD, is a primary care doctor and internist as well as an epidemiologist. He is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he maintains an active practice in adult medicine and teaches with residents and medical students.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Dedications
Chapter 1: The Most Frequent Procedure
Chapter 2: Visit Time and Clock Time
Chapter 3: What We Want as Patients: Lessons from Communication Science
Chapter 4: The Doctor as a Professional - in Our Eyes
Chapter 5: Measuring How Good Our Doctors Are
Chapter 6: Telling Our Story: Taking the Time to Express Our Health Concerns to Ourselves and Others
Chapter 7: Make The Most of the Visit Through Mindfulness
Chapter 8: How To Communicate Even While Intimidated, Limited, Uncomfortable, or Under-Educated
Chapter 9: What We’re Talking About: Negotiating The Agenda With the Doctor
Chapter 10: Acknowledge - and Use - Emotion and Motivation
Chapter 11: How To Talk to the Doctor
About What Makes You Nervous, Embarrassed, or Grossed Out
Chapter 12: Making Healthy Communities with Healthy Communication
Chapter 13: Learning How to Want Less: Creating a Resource-Sparing Medical Culture Together with Our Doctors
Chapter 14: Transforming Our Health Care System Through Communication and Collaboration
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

What is the most commonly performed procedure done by a doctor? The answer is surprisingly simple: interviewing patients. The medical interview has four major purposes: building rapport, collecting information, educating, and proposing possible treatments. Berger, an internal-medicine specialist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, dissects the dynamics and studies the flow of doctor-patient encounters. He offers suggestions for effectively communicating with your doctor (even when you are nervous, embarrassed, and intimidated). Some of the most frequent emotions surfacing during a doctor’s visit are fear, anger, sadness, and frustration. Yet good physicians can help patients plot a course through difficult times by expressing empathy and exercising “emotional nimbleness.” Berger writes, “Healing depends on sensitive emotional navigation as much as objective truth.” Every visit to the doctor’s office is an opportunity for a new beginning and an important dialogue about remaining healthy or feeling better. Patients should feel comfortable about expressing their concerns, and physicians need to listen carefully. Berger’s book lays a strong foundation.

Booklist

I have read a great many books written by patients that focus on how to survive a hospital stay or contain guidance to help the reader get the most out of their doctor’s appointment. I have also read a great deal of such books written by doctors. These tomes are often written in an earnest manner but can be hard for the layman to follow. I was so excited when I heard Zackary Berger would be writing this book, Talking to Your Doctor. I was familiar with his lyrical writing style from articles and blogs. I am pleased to see his talent on full display in this long form narrative. “Talking to Your Doctor” is humorous and insightful. I got a real kick out of his decision to focus on embarrassing questions in Chapter 11. Not many authors have the subtle wit to make such comparisons. Please read this lovely conversation that is wrapped within the pages of a book. You will not regret it.

Regina Holliday

In Talking to Your Doctor, Zackary Berger provides an invaluable lesson to patients—regardless of being in a chronic disease state or suffering a single bout of illness, patients must take responsibility for clearly communicating their symptoms and desired outcomes of care to their doctors. Clinical findings cannot do what the patient voice can do in defining what sickness means to the individual patient. With Berger’s guidance, patients can empower themselves to better explain their concerns and work with their doctors to achieve meaningful solutions. Berger also encourages his fellow physicians to engage in redefining the doctor-patient relationship to be one of mutual respect and open dialogue so that both doctor and patient find greater satisfaction in their clinical interactions.

Sarah E. Kucharski

Dr. Berger rigorously reviews the ins and outs of doctor-patient communication to find what you need to do to get the best healthcare: better conversations with your doctor.

Victor Montori

There are many reasons that poorer people are sicker people, but one that's often overlooked is miscommunication between doctors and their poorest, most marginalized patients. While it's usually the case that doctors are from Mars and patients from Venus, this is especially the case when there are gaps in language, culture, education and class. In Talking to Your Doctor, Zackary Berger shows us how to turn those all-too-brief and awkward exchanges into a foundation for getting better.

Tina Rosenberg

Dr. Berger provides practical, effective advice for how to better communicate with your doctor. By following this book's advice, patients can more effectively communicate, better understand what they should do, and ultimately be more likely to get and stay well.

Peter Pronovost

What is the most commonly performed procedure done by a doctor? The answer is surprisingly simple: interviewing patients. The medical interview has four major purposes: building rapport, collecting information, educating, and proposing possible treatments. Berger, an internal-medicine specialist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, dissects the dynamics and studies the flow of doctor-patient encounters. He offers suggestions for effectively communicating with your doctor (even when you are nervous, embarrassed, and intimidated). Some of the most frequent emotions surfacing during a doctor’s visit are fear, anger, sadness, and frustration. Yet good physicians can help patients plot a course through difficult times by expressing empathy and exercising “emotional nimbleness.” Berger writes, “Healing depends on sensitive emotional navigation as much as objective truth.” Every visit to the doctor’s office is an opportunity for a new beginning and an important dialogue about remaining healthy or feeling better. Patients should feel comfortable about expressing their concerns, and physicians need to listen carefully. Berger’s book lays a strong foundation.

Booklist