title: Patient-physician communication.
abstract: Extensive research has shown that no matter how knowledgeable the physician might be, if he/she is not able to open good communication channels with the patient, he/she may be of no help to the latter Despite this known fact and the fact that a patient-physician consultation is the most widely performed 'procedure' in a physician's professional lifetime, effective communication with the patient has been found to be sadly lacking. This review article seeks to discuss 'the what', 'the why' and 'the how' of doctor-patient communication.
authors.affiliation: Sickle Cell Unit, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica, West Indies. monika.parshadasnani@uwimona.edu.jm
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Asnani
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations