title: Communication with the elderly psychiatric outpatient.
abstract: Elderly psychiatric patients pose special challenges to effective communication. Psychiatric diagnosis relies heavily on verbal communication and can become a casualty in this process. Consequences of an incomplete or distorted data base include inappropriate treatment and polypharmacy. The authors examine the causes of doctor-patient miscommunication and, propose specific, simple measures to improve information exchange for both initial evaluation and follow-up of the geropsychiatric patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, Houston, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lesser
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beller
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harmon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers; D003144:Communication Barriers; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011570:Psychiatry