We all have a good idea of how we want things to go when we visit a physician. We expect to be able to explain why we are there, and we hope the physician will listen and possibly ask questions that help us clarify our thoughts. Most of us hope that the physician will provide some expression of empathy, offer a clear, nontechnical assessment of our problem, and describe "next steps" in a way that is easy to understand. Ideally, we would like to be asked about our ability to follow treatmen...