803 Compartments and Communication

Misperceptions can lead to communication difficulties that interfere with good health care. When people are operating within their own area of expertise, they may find it hard to understand what the big picture looks like from another person’s perspective. Whether the differences lie between doctor and patient or between different health care providers, the results can be unfair judgments and missed opportunities.
Learn how this attitude can affect the way doctors interpret the results of placebo-controlled trials and how they feel about home remedies. We also discuss the pros and cons of email communication between doctors and patients, and how to choose a good doctor.
Guest: Steven R. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Dermatology, Pathology & Public Health Sciences at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, NC. He is the founder of the DrScore.com doctor rating website and author of Compartments: How the Brightest, Best Trained, and Most Caring People Can Make Judgments That Are Completely and Utterly Wrong. His Websites are www.compartmentsbook.com and www.drscore.com.
The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. Podcasts can be downloaded for free for six weeks after the date of broadcast. After that time has passed, digital downloads are available for $2.99. CDs may be purchased at any time after broadcast for $9.99.