Providing the Gist of Medical Expertise in the Context of Laws, Rules, and Guidelines: Fuzzy-Trace Theory's Alternative Approach to Improve Patient Communication.

ABSTRACT

Current guidelines and regulatory frameworks create a dilemma that threatens the effectiveness of much needed communication between patients and medical providers How can patients be presented with detailed facts without creating cognitive "overload"? We explain how this is a false dichotomy and illustrate, using three examples, how fuzzy-trace theory offers a third way of informing patients.