Lm. Baker et Jj. Connor, PHYSICIAN-PATIENT COMMUNICATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION-SCIENCE, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 82(1), 1994, pp. 36-42
The physician-patient communication process has received little attent
ion from library and information science (LIS) professionals. A limite
d review of other literature on this topic was undertaken to gain some
understanding of the information exchange from an LIS perspective. Th
e authors were interested in four issues, including how information is
defined; how information-seeking behavior is portrayed; what barriers
to information exist in the exchange process; and what role, if any,
information plays in health outcomes. Studies have been conducted by r
esearchers in various disciplines who have defined communication as a
giving and seeking activity between the physician and the patient. Bar
riers to good communication, erected by either party or by both, preve
nt the participants from experiencing a satisfactory encounter. Becaus
e information can play a role in health outcomes, various strategies h
ave been tried to improve the communication process. These studies pro
vide a better understanding of the physician-patient encounter and sug
gest new areas of patient-centered research for LIS professionals.