A Picture Is Worth . . .

I often drive home key points I make to patients by drawing on the paper cover on the examining table. A graph, a key lab value, an anatomical aid-indeed, any kind of visual aid-is likely to help patients "get" the concept I am trying to explain. They stay more engaged and process information on a different level than they do when I just jabber away abstractly. Patients can also tear off the drawing and take it home.

----Nate Hitzeman, MD
Sacramento, Calif