The mission of the Institute for Healthcare Communication is to advance the quality of healthcare by optimizing the experience and process of healthcare communication through four major activities: education, advocacy, research, and partnerships. The Institute stresses the concept that effective healthcare communication is a necessity, not an option. We create and disseminate innovative educational programs and services, and we advocate for the importance of communication as an essential aspect of healthcare. We also engage in collaborative research, and we partner with other leading organizations that share our vision.

The Institute was founded in 1987. Since that time the faculty has conducted more than 9,000 workshops for more than 120,000 clinicians and health care workers. Grants to research investigators have developed new knowledge about clinician-patient communication. The staff has published extensively and developed an impressive array of continuing education programs, including workshops and faculty development courses.

The Institute operates as a non-profit organization. An independent board of directors determines the policies that guide the Institute's activities. The full-time professional staff members are affiliated with top-ranked medical schools, have written on clinician-patient communication for peer reviewed journals, and are master teachers. In addition to the full time staff, a network of regional consultants and faculty members extends the work of the Institute to every region of the United States and several other countries, including Canada and Australia.