Volume 55, Number 2
Spring 2004

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FEATURE ARTICLES

Doctor-Patient Communication

Editorial: Doctor to Patient: Let’s Talk

“In this era of high-tech, impersonal medical intervention, physician-patient communication is perhaps more critical to the practice of medicine than ever before.”
By Mark Sloan, MD

Improving Physicians’ Communication Skills

“How we communicate—first understanding, then seeking to be understood—plays a large part in our patients’ satisfaction, compliance with treatment plans, and outcomes.”
By Mark Klein, MD

The Weight-Loss Surgery Paradigm

“As medicine becomes increasingly technical and impersonal, and time allotted for physician-patient contact more strained, patients are relying on themselves for information, education, and support.”
By David Elliott, MD

Talking With Patients About Medical Costs

“As a physician, you regularly discuss highly personal topics with patients, and you do it with confidence; but how do you feel when talking to patients about how much you charge for their care?”
By Keith Borglum

Can We Talk?

“If the privacy of [medical records] is breached, fearful patients might glance both ways in the exam room and ask their physician, ‘Can we talk?’”
By Brien A. Seeley, MD

Why Do Patients Sue Doctors?

“Poor doctor-patient communication and defensiveness by the treating physician are common factors in a patient’s decision to sue.”
By Richard J. Andolsen, MD

DEPARTMENTS

SCMA News: Update on SCMA Programs

“SCMA is working on several programs that we hope will improve both health care in the community and business prospects for physicians. One such program is the Children’s Health Network (CHN), whose mission is to increase health care access for Sonoma County’s estimated 18,000 disadvantaged children.”
By SCMA President Jan Sonander, MD

Outside the Office: Behind Enemy Lines in Iraq

“I am proud to have served my country in Iraq, although I sometimes felt less than noble while I was there. It was one of those times in my life when I didn’t have a lot of control and needed to make the best of it.”
By Greg Hamon, MD, FACS

Local Frontiers: Internet Medical Records for Migrant Workers

“Migrant workers in Sonoma County can now have their medical
information stored in an Internet-based personal health record that can be downloaded by physicians, emergency rooms, and clinics to quickly access information on an individual worker’s health history, medical conditions, allergies, medications, and treatment plans.”
By Cynthia Solomon

Practical Concerns: Record Alteration is a Preventable Disease

“Record alterations are a plaintiff lawyer’s dream. If you change a record in an inappropriate fashion, you are surrendering your credibility with the jury and handing the case to the plaintiff.”
By Harry Richardson, MD

Current Books: Harvesting Memories

“While the desire to read a good book by a local resident is reason enough to immerse oneself in Seasons Among the Vines, the physicians, hospital workers, and patients of Sonoma County have an even more compelling reason. Paula Moulton is the late Dr. Chuck Moulton’s wife.”
By Heather Furnas, MD

Classifieds