What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear

Despite modern medicine's fascination with modern gadgets, the most powerful diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which can uncover a large proportion of diseases. However, what patients say and what doctors hear are often two very different things. Patients, wanting to communicate their symptoms, feel the need to 'make their case' to doctors. Doctors, under pressure to be efficient, multitask while patients talk and often omit key elements. Add stereotypes, unconscious biases, conflicting agendas and fear of lawsuits, and the risk of misdiagnosis and medical errors increases dangerously. While the gap between what patients say and what doctors hear is often wide, Dr Danielle Ofri proves that it doesn't have to be that way. Through the powerfully resonant human stories for which Dr Ofri is renowned, she explores the high-stakes world of doctor-patient communication that we all have to navigate. She presents the latest scientific research and interviews scientists.