Medical Communication

This chapter reviews research concerning linguistics and language use in medical communication. It begins with the relationship between the patient and the healthcare professional, showing how this relationship, which sits at the heart of all communication with patients, is conceptualized in models for consulting. From this starting point, the chapter explores dimensions of the doctor-patient relationship, such as trust, empathy, caring, and teamwork, and shows how these qualities provide impetus for a range of studies investigating dimensions of language use and communication in healthcare settings. Drawing on conceptual and empirical work, the chapter then focuses on constituents of patient-centred approaches in healthcare delivery as identified in research, from the level of individual words, actions, and exchanges in consultations to patient and health professional experiences and ideological and policy-driven discourses, including healthcare professional well-being and maintaining relationships with patients online. In a reflexive relationship, while medical and healthcare communication research continues to employ novel uses of linguistic research, these same applications of linguistics further our understanding of how healthcare is delivered to and taken up by patients, as well as how doctors and healthcare professionals maintain and develop their patient-centred approaches. Linguistics is, thus, ever and increasingly relevant in healthcare.