Patient-physician communication.

Extensive research has shown that no matter how knowledgeable the physician might be, if he/she is not able to open good communication channels with the patient, he/she may be of no help to the latter Despite this known fact and the fact that a patient-physician consultation is the most widely performed 'procedure' in a physician's professional lifetime, effective communication with the patient has been found to be sadly lacking. This review article seeks to discuss 'the what', 'the why' and 'the how' of doctor-patient communication.