Articles & Media
Doctors Need Better Communication
When patients speak with their doctor about the symptoms they’re experiencing, miscommunication often gets in the way of proper treatment. Danielle Ofri, an associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine, shared her wisdom about doctor-patient interaction Thursday night to a room full of medical professionals and students More
Lancet review of “What Patients Say; What Doctors Hear”
“For all the sophisticated diagnostic tools of modern medicine, the conversation between doctor and patient remains the primary diagnostic tool.†This idea lies at the heart of Danielle Ofri’s new book What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear, in which she acknowledges, dissects, experiments with, and analyses the complexities and miscues of the patient–doctor exchange. More
Losing a Patient
He made his way into my exam room supported by two metal crutches that braced at the elbow, lurching his withered legs forward, step by excruciating step. He was a wisp of a man, barely clocking in at 100 lbs—wasted away, it looked like, from untreated polio and a lifetime of subsistence living. Yet somehow here he was in bustling Manhattan, having managed to navigate our bureaucratic hospital system just a few months after arriving from East Africa. More
Is Gun Violence like Chicken Pox?
Gun violence has been characterized as an epidemic. But can a disease model of contagion help predict future victims and potentially protect them? Is gun violence really like chicken pox? More
WNYC Interview at New York Public Library
A conversation between Danielle Ofri and Mary Harris, host of WNYC’s Only Human podcast. In NYPL’s beautiful 53rd Street library, Danielle and Mary discuss how doctors and patients communicate (or don’t!) More
McGill News review of “What Patients Say,What Doctors Hear”
Many physicians struggle to treat their patients while adhering to their very tight schedules. What happens when there’s a huge disconnect in this very intimate relationship? More
Review by Terri Schlichenmeyer
This is the book you want to read in the waiting room at your next doctor’s appointment. It’s the one you’ll want to take to the next medical conference. In both cases, it could make a difference: With “What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear,” it’s your listening skills you’ll be examining. More
C-Span Book TV
The book launch for “What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear” was broadcast on C-Span’s Book TV. Watch Danielle’s discussion and reading from NYC’s legendary Strand Bookstore. More
Bellevue Auxiliary
The Bellevue Auxiliary is a century-old humanitarian organization that provides “whatever it takes” to improve the experience of patients. From childcare services to research funds to transportation to smoking cessation programs to outdoor garden to the World Trade Center clinic, the Bellevue Auxiliary has been there to help. Danielle Ofri will be speaking at the … More
Gaps in Coverage from GOP’s Health Plan Can be Deadly
When patients get “lost to follow-upâ€â€”for whatever reason—their health status plummets. Often times the damage wrought by gaps in care and inconsistent access is permanent. When was the last time that a president of the United States deliberately put so many Americans in harm’s way? More
Town & Village review of “What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear”
“My argument is that the doctor-patient conversation is the most important diagnostic tool. What the patient’s telling you is the most important data, more than the MRI, the blood tests, the X-rays.â€
More
Interview on WBYU Radio
Danielle is interviewed by Julie Rose for WBYU Radio about the challenges of being “heard” when you go to the doctor. Whose “fault” is it? How can it be improved? More
UK Spectator: How to improve bedside manners
Some will always see the doctor-patient exchange as a fluffy appendage to ‘real medicine’. But if Ofri’s book succeeds in easing the passage from ‘presenting complaint’ into open conversation, informative for and complementary to further technical interventions, that would be very good news for both the doctor and the patient. More
How to Stay Centered
Michael Seng interviews Danielle about how to stay centered in a chaotic world, how to stay open to serendipity, and how to open up and care deeply for others without losing yourself. More
St. Louis Post-Dispatch on “What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear”
“What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear†is not so much a how-to guide, but a convincing argument for why good communication is at the heart of good medical care. More
