This article discusses the application of theories of argumentation and communication to the field of medicine. Based on a literature review, the authors compare Toulmin’s model, pragmadialectics, and the work of Todd and Fisher, derived from American sociolinguistics. These approaches were selected because they belong to the pragmatic field of language. The main results were: pragma-dialectics...

A critical mass of Internet users is leading to a wide diffusion of electronic communications within medical practice. Unless implemented with substantial forethought, these new technological linkages could disturb delicate balances in the doctor-patient relationship, threaten the privacy of medical information, widen social disparity in health outcomes, and even function as barriers to access....

BACKGROUND Research suggests that individuals who talk with their physicians about lifestyle behaviors are more physically active. Research on this topic is limited in the U.S. Latino population. This study examines doctor-patient communication from the perspective of enrollees in a physical activity (PA) intervention. METHODS Three hundred and eighty-seven Latinos were surveyed at program en...