Main description:

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.

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