OVERVIEW

This chapter looks at the language of medicine, at communication in the various spheres of healthcare, and more specifically at the use of language in these settings. The first part of the chapter outlines the current state of healthcare communication, highlighting some of its key features: the impact of the new technologies, the mobility of healthcare professionals, the tension between tradition and innovation, the issue of health literacy. In the second part, the chapter focuses on some more specific aspects of language choice and communication in healthcare: the provision of information, including patient information leaflets; case studies; interdisciplinary observations. It concludes with an analysis of how language is used in the international healthcare insurance literature, examining some of the stylistic features and discourse strategies, such as the risk vs. protection antithesis.

LANGUAGE AND HEALTHCARE

A great deal of important work has of course been carried out in this vast field and, before the chapter settles into its main areas of analysis, it is useful to highlight some important current aspects and developments. First, it is helpful to remember that healthcare research is, as Sarangi (2011) points out, a ‘crowded space in interdisciplinary terms’, involving a wide range of disciplines. He mentions psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, history, linguistics and literature, but we could also add the law and ITC (information and communication technology) among others. Therefore, although this chapter concentrates on the language of healthcare its interdisciplinary nature should not be forgotten, including the law–medicine interface which is becoming increasingly important with the related growth of healthcare litigation.

Moreover, great transformations are currently taking place in the provision of healthcare and in the way medical information is accessed. For example, telemedicine and instruction in the self-administration of treatment are being promoted in order to enable healthcare to be provided in remote areas. At the same time, immediate access to reliable up-to-date healthcare information via the Internet is becoming increasingly available to non-professionals. These changes are driven by technological advances and by breakthroughs in scientific research, but also by the growing need to reduce the costs of care at a time when the resources available are often meagre and expensive.