The Doctor's Communication Handbook
​8th Edition

I wrote the first edition in 1993, the first six editions were on my own but for the 7th I enlisted the help of my daughter Liz, a forensic psychiatrist, but she relocated to Perth Australia so for this completely rewritten 8th edition Cambridge GP Francesca Frame has been  the main architect and I have taken a gentle overseeing role, but to be clear this is much more her edition than mine. 

For sale in all UK medical bookshops.

Our Aim

.The seventh edition of this book focused on the huge impact that the rapidly changing technological world and access to information has had on the doctor-patient relationship. Not only has our role as a doctor changed, but patient behaviour has fundamentally changed, and this has continued apace over the five years since the seventh edition. We would not consider ourselves technophobes, but the pace of change is scary, and the rapidly changing style of both general practice and hospital medicine is concerning. New and innovative methods of consulting are being encouraged and pushed forwards. Artificial intelligence programmes to help diagnose and manage medical conditions are emerging with remarkable speed and being heavily promoted in some circles. While change is necessary and inevitable, and innovation to be applauded and encouraged, we must not lose sight of what is important in medicine; the shared understanding and goals reached by two individuals who try to understand each other from their own unique perspectives.
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The Eighth Edition with the authors 

Picture
Peter and Francesca August 2019
Below is the cover of the Ist Edition and 5 translations (there are more). Prix Prescrire 2006 du livre médical et pharmaceutique. 
The French translation won this prestigious award in 2006.
These images below were painted by myself and based on photo-montages of my wife Judy. 
I was trying to illustrate Ideas, Concerns and Expectations.
Painted acrylic on board.
They are reproduced in full colour in the 8th edition.

Picture
                               IDEAS                                                  CONCERNS                                                  EXPECTATIONS