The extent to which a treatment procedure is judged to have worked well or badly depends greatly on the involved parties’ past experience and their expectations regarding the treatment itself. It is therefore a very subjective process, which makes defining the quality of treatment procedures a very complex and challenging task, a task in which, as far as this is possible, the points of view and perspectives of all parties involved in the treatment process have to be taken into consideration. The question of what kind of an influence communication might have on the quality of treatment must also be discussed in light of the complexity of this task. A variety of international studies have been carried out on this subject and have come to the general conclusion that patient satisfaction and compliance vary greatly depending on how communication is carried out: the more patients are talked to, the more satisfied they will be with the treatment process and the more likely they will be to carry out the treatment agreed upon in the correct manner. While the influence of communication upon the kind of medication prescribed as well as upon measurable biological parameters is still the object of debate, the general consensus is that it is imperative that further research be carried out in this field and that this research and other endeavours be adequately promoted, including for example training measures to support doctors in developing their communication skills.