What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear

By: Danielle Ofri MD

Narrated by: Ann M. Richardson

Can refocusing conversations between doctors and their patients lead to better health?

Despite modern medicine’s infatuation with high-tech gadgetry, the single most powerful diagnostic tool is the doctor-patient conversation, which can uncover the lion’s share of illnesses. However, what patients say and what doctors hear are often two vastly different things.

Patients, anxious to convey their symptoms, feel an urgency to “make their case” to their doctors. Doctors, under pressure to be efficient, multitask while patients speak and often miss the key elements. Add in stereotypes, unconscious bias, conflicting agendas, and fear of lawsuits and the risk of misdiagnosis and medical errors multiplies dangerously.

Though the gulf between what patients say and what doctors hear is often wide, Dr. Danielle Ofri proves that it doesn’t have to be. Through the powerfully resonant human stories that Dr. Ofri’s writing is renowned for, she explores the high-stakes world of doctor-patient communication that we all must navigate. Reporting on the latest research studies and interviewing scholars, doctors, and patients, Dr. Ofri reveals how better communication can lead to better health for all of us.

Critic reviews

“Her revealing doctor-patient stories often make her seem like the doctor that every patient wishes they had, and she draws on patient accounts to illustrate the problems that can arise in communication between doctor and patient. This book, however, goes far beyond Ofri’s personal experiences with patients. She delves into the relevant research on communication, citing some ingenious experiments on listening...A much-needed, convincing argument that, regarding doctor-patient communication, the stakes are very high and that what patients say is all too often not what doctors hear—and vice versa.”
—Library Journal

“This book has convinced me that the communication skills, which reveal a physician’s compassion, empathy, and respect, will also have a significant effect on the health outcomes of patients.”
—Eyenet Magazine

“With disarming candor and penetrating insight, Dr. Ofri illuminates the enormous power of what might seem at first a mundane and insignificant element in the practice of medicine: communication.”
—Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and author of You Just Don’t Understand and You’re Wearing THAT?

“With the meticulous care of Oliver Sacks and the deep humanism of Atul Gawande, Danielle Ofri has written a book about the role of communication in medicine. She presents compelling evidence that even as doctoring appears to be dominated by technology, the human, affective relationship is at the very center of responsible practice.”
—Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree

Praise for Danielle Ofri

“Taut, vivid prose...She writes for a lay audience with a practiced hand.”
—Katie Hafner, New York Times

“A gifted storyteller.”
—Sarah Halzack, Washington Post

“The world of patient and doctor exists in a special sacred space. Danielle Ofri brings us into that place where science and the soul meet. Her vivid and moving prose enriches the mind and turns the heart.”
—Jerome Groopman, author of How Doctors Think

“I highly recommend [Danielle Ofri’s work] for physicians, would-be doctors, and anyone interested in medicine in all its behind-the-scenes glory.”
—Sandeep Jauhar, author of Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation

“Danielle Ofri’s sensitivity to every aspect of her patients’ lives is immensely impressive and moving. If only more doctors could be (and write) like this!”
—Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings

“[Ofri’s writing] about the emotional life of doctors and their patients, captivated me so much...Read[s] like a deftly crafted and luminously written novel.”
—Caroline Leavitt, Boston Globe

Required reading for all Drs

This was an excellent book. So insightful ,relatable. shines the spotlight on good communication as a skill we should enjoy to enhance Dr-patient relationships
Have found it very helpful and will certainly use some of her tips to improve my own relationships with my patients! All Drs should read this book

Enjoyable and informative for both doctors and patients

I liked hearing what it's like from a doctor's point of view, and sometimes surprised at what a doctor may not know about good communication skills. There were also some good pointers for patients. The narrator is excellent. I could listen to her all day.

So relevant -perfect for medical students

I chew through a fair few audiobooks and it’s rare that I take the time to write a review, let alone give 5 stars in all categories, but this book deserves it.
Every chapter was so relevant to what we’re learning in medical school today and I would recommend it to anyone student or qualified in the healthcare profession because it highlights the importance of communication which is essential to all. It’s also a great read from a patient perspective about how to get the most out of your medical encounters and help you be on the same page with your treating team. I look forward to reading (or rather listening to) Ofri’s other books.

Communication is Medicine at the Core

I appreciate the time, research, and the willingness to improve her own communication so much. I must review the book to see what I must do to improve mine.

Dr. Ofri hit a sore spot in the chapter on bias. I don't doubt that I have implicit bias when meeting people different from me. However, I thought she used "equality" and "inequity" synonymously. They are not synonyms. Equality is how we treat others: ideally the same.

Equity, however, is about outcomes. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed because we don't live in a perfect world. People who smoke often can't have the same health outcome as those who don't.

In the long run, mixing up these words can have far reaching consequences. But in the context of this book, it is just a blip.

great book that gets you thinking

this book helped me to think about pt doctor relationships and the smallest details making a difference. she is a great writer and keeps you engaged and learning. I finished this book in no time