BMJ 2002;325:548 ( 7 September )

Letters

Discussion of risk pervades doctor-patient communication

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Edwards et al neatly summarised the state of current knowledge on communicating risk.1 I have three further points to add.

Firstly, readers may be interested in the risk ladder we developed to display the risks associated with anaesthesia in comparison with some everyday risks (figure). 2 3


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Secondly, I think that the authors either have chosen not to address or been unaware that communication about risk and safety takes place throughout a consultation and not simply when the conversation turns specifically to that issue. Likewise, in written materials, it is located not only in the section describing risks but throughout the whole document. My experience with the Royal College of Anaesthetists' patient information project has shown me that patient information is not simply about putting facts down on paper. Rather, it throws the entire implied relationship between clinician and patient into focus and nowhere is this better seen than in . . . [Full text of this article]
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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • France, J, Keen, C, Bowyer, S (2008). Communicating risk to emergency department patients with chest pain. Emerg. Med. J. 25: 276-278 [Abstract] [Full text]  

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