Ebook: The Medical Interview: Clinical Care, Education, and Research

Primary care medicine is the new frontier in medicine. Every nation in the world has recognized the necessity to deliver personal and primary care to its people. This includes first-contact care, care based in a posi­ tive and caring personal relationship, care by a single healthcare pro­ vider for the majority of the patient's problems, coordination of all care by the patient's personal provider, advocacy for the patient by the pro­ vider, the provision of preventive care and psychosocial care, as well as care for episodes of acute and chronic illness. These facets of care work most effectively when they are embedded in a coherent integrated approach. The support for primary care derives from several significant trends. First, technologically based care costs have rocketed beyond reason or availability, occurring in the face of exploding populations and diminish­ ing real resources in many parts of the world, even in the wealthier nations. Simultaneously, the primary care disciplines-general internal medicine and pediatrics and family medicine-have matured significantly.

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The medical interview is a core clinical skill. It is the medium of doctor-patient communication and relationship, the most important single source of diagnostic data, and the means through which the physician elicits the patient's cooperation in the processes of care. This book draws together a wealth of research and scholarship concerning the medical interview and structures the large domain of knowledge addressing the medical interview and related skills.
The book begins with general aspects of the interview, then focuses on specific situations and types of interviews, and finally, covers ethics, teaching, evaluation, research, and resources.