Values exercise improves doctor-patient communication

Research has shown that patients and doctors interact differently when they are of different races, compared to when both are white or both are African American. "Those issues play themselves out in subtle ways in how medical care gets delivered," said Dr. Edward Havranek, the study's lead researcher from the Denver Health Medical Center. A short waiting room exercise encouraging African American patients to reflect on their personal values helped improve communication between the patients and their white doctors, in a new study.