This episode discusses doctor – patient communication since ancient times. Common historical practices (even into the 20thcentury) may astound you!

Topics discussed include: physicians’ dress and decorum; Hippocrates, the exemplar for physician behavior; Hippocratic Oath and Hippocratic Corpus; Galen’s views on doctor – patient relations; creation of American Medical Association Code of Ethics in 1847; lying to patients vs withholding the truth from patients regarding diagnoses and prognosis; and current recommendations for effective doctor – patient communication.