**Acknowledgements**

*Bioethics in Medicine and Society*

spectrum to exist potential divergences may occur.

**Guidelines for Selecting a Clinic Name**

I. **The Practitioner's Name.** Limited to combination of given and surname, or surname exclusively. May include the

*principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and autonomy.*

honorific "Dr."

*enhances communication.*

*granted medical credential.*

*pre-dispositions on the patient's experience are good, why does it matter?* Not only is it relevant as to whether or not these communicative values are ethical or unethical, it is worth thinking of this form of communication on a spectrum. One communicative form may be more ethical than another on the spectrum, and by allowing the

If a patient is predisposed to perceive care in a certain way many violations of bioethical principles may occur. If a patient is predisposed to perceive their healthcare as a positive experience, when they were actually receiving below-standard care, it poses an ethical problem. On the other hand, if a patient is predisposed to be unsatisfied with what is actually a highly-effective treatment, their adherence to that treatment and relationship with the clinician may suffer. Along with this influence language has on healthcare, language may also assign value, or perhaps assign who is worthy to receive certain experiences as a patient. For example, the general volume of words that create a sense of luxury or relaxation in dental clinic orthonyms, including spa and salon, are indicative of the care the patient may receive at that location. As previously mentioned, the language used within a com-

This research posits that there could be a *juste milieu* for naming in a bioethically sensible manner. Clinic names that include a combination of *the practitioner's name, medical credential,* and *specialty* could be considered as *ad hoc* guidance for clinic naming procedures. This case study argues that orthonyms such as *Dr. de Rothewelle, Periodontist, Dr. de Rothewelle, DMD, Orthodontic Associates,* and similar

In order to communicate efficiently and effectively and maintain the principles of bioethics namely to protect

*By including only the above communicative values, the patient will receive information that is appropriate in manner, relevance, quantity, and quality. These communicative values promote on a microscale the bioethical* 

*\*A note on auxiliary words: lexemes of this type, such as office, practice, associates* et cetera *may be used if doing so* 

*\*\*A note on the use of honorifics: as in many contexts (i.e. education, research, theology, et cetera) "Dr." may be used as an honorific not denoting one's profession as a doctor. For this reason, the use of "Dr." should be followed by* 

II. **Medical Credential.** Academic degrees required to practice such as D.D.S., D.M.D., or foreign equivalents.

III. **Specialization.** Specialties as approved by the governing body such as periodontal, orthodontic, and maxillofacial.

Due to the role of communication's influence on the patient experience, health outcomes, and treatment satisfaction, further analyses should be extended through all communicative modalities with the potential to influence cognition and patient care. This includes units of micro-communicative value such as the proper noun. This research further suggests that the communicative maxims and bioethical principles be further analyzed in symbiosis to enhance healthcare communication.

Due to language's ability to influence cognition, language's place within healthcare is of vital importance. Whether it be the communication of treatment

munity may influence perception and cognition in a cyclical manner.

most clearly observe communicative and biomedical ethical standards.

the patient, research recommends including only one or more of the following units.

**130**

**9. Conclusion**

Thanks to my colleagues at The Reading Center, and within The Department of Communication. Gratitude to those who provided feedback on this research at the 2020 International Conference on Medical Humanities at University of Oxford. Special recognition to Destiny Mitchell and Mary Hall for language editing, and Shelley Sandow for a little inspiration.
