Physician Patient Communication In Respect to the Initial Interview Definition of Physician Patient Communication in the Interview The main purpose of the medical interview is to collect historical information that can be used to make a diagnosis of the disease and to understand the patients problem. (Henderson, 11) This is the beginning of the physician patient relationship. The interview generally begins by the doctor greeting the patient, introducing himself/herself, and defines his/her professional role. Common courtesy dictates that the physician learns the patients name and refers to them with the proper title. Last name is proper for adults, while the use of the first name is comforting to children. The physician inquires about how the patient is and begins the process of finding out what is wrong with the patient. The first thing that the doctor does is to put the patient at ease and to make them as comfortable as possible. The physician should begin the conversation with an open ended question, such as, How are you feeling. The physician then encourages the patient to mention all of the ailments that they are experiencing. This is when the physician can learn the most about the patients personality and environmental influences. It is important for the doctor to be attentive and take good notes. The doctor explores in great detail the time of the ailments and the severity. The physician inquires about the patients past health and any family history that is of relevance. The physician then checks the accuracy of all the data and details collected to date and informs the patient of the next step in the process, the diagnosis. It is important that the patient does most of the talking throughout the interview, so that the doctor can elicit all of the information about the patients illness. The physician should direct the interview, but not dominate the speaking. Review of the Major Studies of Physician Patient...
