Abstract

Reviews of intercultural doctor-patient communication carried out to date have pointed to recommendations for professional practice, tangentially addressing the research needs of the field. The aim of this study is to conduct a critical review of studies that examine intercultural communication in the doctor-patient relationship in order to synthesize their findings, evaluate their limitations, and propose future lines of research that foster the evolution of the field. Advanced searches were performed in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and Scielo. The application of the PRISMA methodology allowed the identification of 29 articles. In most of the reviewed articles, interculturality is insufficiently theorized and communication is examined very superficially. There are few studies that investigate discursive and/or linguistic aspects of intercultural doctor-patient communication. It is vital that future research incorporate a micro-cultural perspective to the study of the doctor-patient relationship and contemplate linguistic elements of intercultural communication.