The manner in which a physician communicates information
to a patient is as important as the information
being communicated. Patients who understand their doctors
are more likely to acknowledge health problems, understand
their treatment options, modify their behavior accordingly,
and follow their medication schedules.1-4 In fact,
research has shown that effective patient-physician communication
can improve a patient’s health as quantifiably
as many drugs—perhaps providing a partial explanation for
the powerful placebo effect seen in clinical trials