title: Negotiation techniques for health care professionals.
abstract: Negotiation is an essential part of health care practice and is not formally taught during medical training. This article aims to improve the negotiation skills of readers by explaining the essential components of preparation before a negotiation and reviewing common techniques for optimizing negotiated agreements. The terms reservation point, target value, and best alternative to a negotiated agreement are defined, and their importance in negotiation preparation is explained. The concept of anchoring, or making the first offer, in a negotiation is reviewed, and important techniques for team negotiation are provided.
authors.affiliation: Evanston Northwestern Healthcare-Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Evanston, Ill 60201, USA. jonathanberlin@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Berlin
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Lexa
mesh_terms: D018578:Hospital-Physician Relations; D017008:Negotiating / Q000379:methods; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D011361:Professional Competence; D011871:Radiology; D014481:United States