Since language is the predominant instrument by which information is transmitted between doctor and patient, an understanding of the uses and functions of language in medicine is crucial to effective medical care. This paper describes a framework for the study of language as a tool in medicine. (LBH)

The effects of therapist sex, client sex, and client pathology on treatment goals formulated by practicing psychotherapists were investigated. Practicing male and female psychotherapists recommended treatment goals for either two male or two female pseudoclients who differed in their presenting pathology, which was severe and clearly defined.…

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the validity of the Internal Revenue Service ruling that allows nonprofit hospitals to qualify as charitable institutions without requiring them to provide services at reduced rates for persons unable to pay. This is a reversal of existing law regarding tax exempt status for charitable…

Highly disturbed patients (N=75) were sent through the Silva Mind Control training to determine which patients might get into difficulty. Only one became appreciably more disturbed. The most consistent finding was a dramatic increase in reality testing, as determined clinically and on objective psychological testing. (Author)

Examined the health care needs, practices, insurance status, and concerns of 112 medical students, finding that one-third had informally requested prescriptions or diagnostic tests from medical school faculty and housestaff, and that women more often reported difficulty obtaining health care than men. The majority of students preferred to avoid…

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the underlying structure of negative symptoms of schizophrenia as measured by the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS). CFA results from the assessment of 401 patients were largely supported by CFA results from a second assessment of 345 patients. (SLD)

Examines the concepts of "symptom" and "diagnosis" from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on elements from cognitive linguistics, clinical decision-making research, and conversation analysis. Specific focus is on how prototype theory and the notion of fuzziness can enhance the understanding of these concepts. (29 references) (Author/CK)

A new infrequent response indicator, frequency psychopathology [F(p)] was developed for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and tested with 308 male psychiatric inpatients (veterans). Findings support the F(p) as a sensitive index of profile invalidity in psychiatric populations. (SLD)

The message-learning approach uses persuasive communication to encourage people to examine and change their beliefs and attitudes. It provides useful strategies for direct patient education and helps health educators promote change in the health behavior of their patients. (JOW)

Health care providers were trained using standardized patients (individuals acting as patients) to conduct AIDS risk assessment and posttest counseling. Evaluations involving over 500 participants determined it was an effective technique; however, participants in group formats experienced discomfort. (SK)

This article discusses how a focus group of seven individuals with Down syndrome was used to explore experiences of going to the doctor. Obtaining consent and acknowledging the power differential between participants and researchers are highlighted as key challenges for those wishing to engage in disability research. (Contains references.)…

Describes a study which examined the current matriculation preferences and developmental changes in particular listening habits of medical students during their first year of medical education. Notes that results indicated significant differences between the "people" orientation and the "content" and "time"…

Blood pressure and pulse are measured in supine and upright positions, and certain differences between the values are said to indicate fluid volume disturbance. Most discussions of this "orthostatic test" do not explain how it should be done, and they differ from what has been observed in a practice setting. (MLW)

The validity of the Periodontal Treatment Need System and the Community Periodontal Index for Treatment Need as screening tests for allocation of patients to dental students was assessed and compared. Sixty-one patients reporting to the Department of Periodontology at the University of Oslo were studied. (MLW)

In-depth analysis of topic distribution, utterance functions, and structural and lexical elements in a doctor-patient interaction revealed significant differences between authentic discourse and English-as-a-Second-Language text discourse, suggesting a need for better collection of more authentic data, for a distributional analysis of…