Communicating Effectively in Medical Records: A Guide for Physicians

How well you write directly influences your perceived professional competency and credibility. Communicating Effectively in Medical Records assists doctors, physician′s assistants, and nurse practitioners with the task of communicating highly scientific and technical information to a variety of audiences in a clear, concise, and effective manner. Michael Pagano provides actual medical records (both good and bad) that you can analyze, answer questions about and rewrite to conform to standards set by JCAHO and PRO reviewers. Also, learn how to make language choices that are appropriate for the specific format and style required in a variety of medical records. "The book is excellent! I would like to recommend that it be read by every physician in the state of Oklahoma. I have often told our physicians that ′Good medical records are a doctor′s first line of defense in professional liability situations.′ The book can help any physician improve their record keeping ability."

Michael P. Pagano, Ph.D., PA-C Emeritus
Professor, Department of Communication
Michael was born and raised in Oklahoma.  After serving as an Army corpsman in Vietnam, Michael became a Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C).   He enjoyed the teaching role of being a PA and concurrently went to graduate school earning an MA in English and a Ph.D. in Communication with a focus on health communication.  He worked for 42 years, until he retired as a PA-C in 2019, in: Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, and Occupational Health settings in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Connecticut. Over the past 18 years at Fairfield, he has taught a wide variety of graduate courses in: health, organizational, and interpersonal communication. In addition, he has a wide-ranging health and organizational communication research agenda, including award-winning articles co-authored with Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies faculty.  His unique background has contributed to a breadth of publications including: 6 books on health communication, and #7 published in 2021, Understanding Health Care in America: Culture, Capitalism, & Communication. He has also published numerous book chapters and encyclopedia entries. At Fairfield University, he has served as the Director of Graduate Studies for the MA in Communication Program, as well as interim Director for the Health Studies Minor and Masters in Public Administration Program.  He is married, has 2 sons, 3 grandchildren, and whenever possible plays golf.