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Media Relations

Body lingo: What are you and your doctor saying?

Louisville Courier-Journal

Body lingo: What are you and your doctor saying?

By Darla Carter
March 30, 2006

Without saying a word, doctors can speak volumes. Their body language -- such as looking at their watches, drumming their fingers and looking toward the door -- can give the impression that they're in a hurry or don't have time for their patients, said Richard Frankel, a professor of medicine and geriatrics at Indiana University who studies the subject. "Most physicians in training spend at least the early part of their career interacting with their books," said Frankel. "The book doesn't care what facial expression you have when you're reading it, but patients care a lot." In an article published in a January supplement to the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Frankel and colleagues from various universities note that patients report greater satisfaction when doctors show "nonverbal indicators of physician interest," such as leaning forward, nodding and gesturing more, establishing closer interpersonal distance, and spending less time looking at charts. Frankel is a senior research scientist at the Regenstrief Institute at the IU School of Medicine.

To read the entire story, go to: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060330/FEATURES03/603300309/1012/FEATURES.

To learn more about Frankel, go to:
http://www.regenstrief.org/Members/rfrankel/bio/view.

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