Communication Skills for Pharmacists: Building Relationships, Improving Patient Care, third edition, includes new material that will help student pharmacists and practicing pharmacists develop the communication skills they need for providing high quality care. Effective relationships between pharmacists and patients and between pharmacists and physicians pave the way for positive treatment outcomes. To improve medication use and patient outcomes, pharmacists need skill in building these relationships.

Key Features:
--15 chapters from the second edition covering key communication skills for pharmacists: listening and empathic responding, supportive communication, persuasive communication, assertiveness, managing conflict, dealing with angry patients, and helping patients accept the behavior changes needed to manage their illness
--A new chapter on communicating about sensitive medical issues (e.g., depression, erectile dysfunction) and a second new chapter on communicating with patients who have literacy limitations
--A detailed patient counseling checklist to help pharmacists with the timing and organization of the information they provide to patients and the information they receive from patients
--Dozens of examples of good and bad pharmacist–patient and pharmacist–physician dialogues
--Questions for reflection at the end of each chapter

Table of Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contributors
1. Caring, Covenants, Codes, and Commitment
2. Developing the Relationship
3. Choosing to See Patients as People
4. Listening and Empathic Responding
5. Patient Counseling
6. Managing the Angry Patient
7. Assertiveness
8. Conflict Management
9. Helping Patients with Change
10. Interacting with Physicians
11. Supportive Communication
12. Choosing an Appropriate Response
13. Persuasive Communication
14. Immediacy: How Word Choice and Nonverbal Cues Affect the Relationship
15. Cultural Competence
16. Communicating on Sensitive Issues
17. Communicating with Patients Who Have Literacy Limitations
Index

“This is a well written and easy to read book, not only for pharmacy technicians already in practice seeking advancement, but also for pharmacy students who will begin intern positions.”

—Patrick McDonnell, PharmD
Temple University School of Pharmacy

Doody’s Book Review Service Rating: ***