title: Getting the news.
abstract: Modern medical care is a 2-edged sword. Technical advances have improved our ability to diagnosis and treat disease, but they can also create a frightening, painful and bewildering environment for the patient seeking care. In this essay, the author shares his recent encounter with a life-threatening disease, emphasizing the unique contributions of the family physician to patient care, and pointing out some of the pitfalls of new communication tools such as e-mail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash 98195, USA. rosenb@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rosenblatt
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D034742:Electronic Mail; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology