Skills for Communicating with Patients, Second Edition is one of two companion books on improving communication in medicine which together provide a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning communication skills throughout all levels of medical education and in both specialist and family medicine. Since their publication, the first edition of this book and its companion, Teaching and Learning Communication Skills in Medicine, have become established standard texts in communication skills teaching throughout the world, 'the first entirely evidence-based textbooks on medical interviewing'. This substantially expanded second edition has been fully updated in relation to the current research literature and revised to reflect recent developments in theoretical and conceptual approaches to communication. It explores in detail the specific skills of doctor-patient communication and provides comprehensive evidence of the improvement that those skills can make to health outcome and everyday clinical practice. It is unique in providing a secure platform of core skills which represent the foundations of doctor-patient communication in every circumstance. It is essential reading for learners at all levels (whether medical students, residents or established practitioners) and for facilitators and programme directors.