COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OLDER PATIENTS AND THEIR PHYSICIANS

Abstract

The relationship between the physician and the patient is unique.In few other professional relationships is there such immediate intimacy and trust.Indeed, in an initial medical encounter involving the meeting of two strangers, often there are revelations about highly personal subjects and an examination of the patient's body.Patients and physicians deal with a staggering variety of issues as diverse as the drama of life-threatening assaults on health to more mundane concerns such as medication adjustment for the treatment of a chronic disease.Some of the goals of studying physician-patient communication include the desire to better understand how a relationship develops, to unearth the multiple levels of meaning in the medical encounter, and to better comprehend the effects of this complex interaction on patient health outcomes.Social scientists and physicians have studied the physician-patient relationship over the last 35 years.During this period of time, researchers have documented the significant influence of the physician-patient relationship on patient adherence, patient satisfaction, and patient health status.*In recent years, physicians also have begun to study the effects *References 4 6 , 14, 24, 31, 36-38, 40, 43, 45, 47-49, 52, 56.Also see articles by Roter and Stewart et a1 in this issue.