Institute for Doctor-Patient Communication

• Provide junior investigators who are interested in doctor-patient communication with career support through activities such as mentoring, reviewing grant proposals and manuscripts, and offering feedback on presentations of work in progress.
• Form a network of investigators within and outside of the University of Pittsburgh community from which collaborative groups can develop.
• Help individuals develop expertise in methodologies and approaches to doctor-patient communication.
• House and maintain an audiotape registry from which studies on doctor-patient communication can be accessed.
• Provide resources and support to facilitate the performance of preliminary studies by core and affiliate members of the institute.
• Improve education in doctor-patient communication skills across all 4 years of the medical school curriculum.
• Develop and implement criteria to assess doctor-patient communication skills in the required evaluation of medical students.
• Collect resources and examples of best practices and techniques for teaching doctor-patient communication.