Brain-Body Breakthroughs – Doctor-Patient Communication — How to get the most out of your 20 minutes, and walk away happy! An interview with Dr. Richard Frankel.

Summary: We've come a long way since the days of Dr. Kildare and Marcus Welby, MD. When men were doctors and we just sat in the office when DOCTOR was ready, and listened. Now times have changed and the stakes are much higher. It's no surprise that many patients are discouraged, upset and confused after leaving a doctor's visit. This often foments an antagonistic relationship with the person who holds your (medical) life in his hands. Because of this, along with the desire to streamline and improve health care delivery and medical outcomes, this entire field has come out of the closet and has gone mainstream. It's new name is patient-centered care (http://communications.medicine.iu.edu/newsroom/stories/2011/training-future-doctors-to-enlist-patients-as-partners-in-care/). And it includes the use of computers and the Internet as tools to facilitate the effective and timely communication of salient medical information and enhance the ability of doctors and patients to relate to each other and accomplish common goals such as improved safety and better health care. An integral component of this transformation is the 4-Habits Model of communication which we will discuss. It is being incorporated into medical school curricula and even medical practitioners who have been in the field for decades are reaping benefits, feeling better about their patient contacts and are experiencing improved outcomes with less time expenditure. So please join me for a trip into the Brave New World of doctor-patient medicine. And find out how it feels and how it will improve your health!