In this issue of Medical Clinics of North America, guest editor Dr. Heather Hofmann brings her considerable expertise to the topic of Communication Skills and Challenges in Medical Practice. Communication is a core part of medical practice, and just as physicians increase their knowledge and hone clinical reasoning skills, so too must communication skills be refined. This issue provides an evidence-based review of patient-centered communication for the general practitioner, covering key communications skills commonly used in patient encounters, including challenges posed by modern medicine to effective communication. Contains 15 relevant, practice-oriented topics including addressing the challenges of cross-cultural communication; gender and health communication; eliciting the patient narrative; motivating behavioral change; breaking bad news; using technology to enhance communication; and more. Provides in-depth clinical reviews on communication skills and challenges in medical practice, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.