How Your Doctor is Sending Mixed Signals

How Your Doctor is Sending Mixed Signals. Remember that old idea about how you can see how a couple is doing by checking out their body language? Arms crossed across the body means defensive behavior, turning away means they’re not so psyched to be together — that sort of thing? According to a new study out the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the same thing applies to your doctor. And the problem with that it turns out that most doctors aren’t actually very good that sort of communication. Some might speak to the floor, look away from their patients, or give a reassuring smile while they cross their arms and legs. Nonverbal cues like these, say the researchers behind the paper, need to become the next frontier of doctor-patient communication — although given the huge amount of analysis that’s needed to start such a project, getting off the ground is going to be tough. [New York Times | Journal of General Internal Medicine]