Letter to the Editor: Medical Jargon: Obstacle to Effective Communication between Physicians and Patients

Medical jargon, which is full of Latin terminologies and abbreviations, is used throughout medical practice and tends to create barriers and social distance between the physician and patient. So often we as physicians speak to patients in medical terms and do not realize how little the patients understand us, yet good medical practice depends on complete understanding between physicians and patients. Arguably, residents and young physicians are more guilty of using medical jargon than older physicians. This letter highlights a dialogue between a physician and a patient’s relative following the death of the patient. A 60-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit of a university hospital with the diagnoses of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and acute renal failure.