Physician-patient relationship

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Revision as of 01:58, 24 October 2007 by imported>Robert Badgett
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The physician-patient relationship is defined as the "interactions between physician and patient".[1]

The medical interview

Greeting the patient

One study of videotaped physician-patient encounters concluded that "physicians should be encouraged to shake hands with patients but remain sensitive to nonverbal cues that might indicate whether patients are open to this behavior. Given the diversity of opinion regarding the use of names, coupled with national patient safety recommendations concerning patient identification, we suggest that physicians initially use patients' first and last names and introduce themselves using their own first and last names."[2]

Hearing the patient's story

Although physicians frequently (77% of interviews) interrupt patients before the patient finishes listing their concerns,[3] it is not clear that this interruption is bad.[4][5]

After the patient finishing stating their chief concern, responding with "Is there something else you want to address in the visit today?" rather than "Is there anything else you want to address in the visit today?" may decrease patients' unmet concerns.[6]

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Physician-Patient Relations. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
  2. Makoul G, Zick A, Green M (2007). "An evidence-based perspective on greetings in medical encounters". Arch. Intern. Med. 167 (11): 1172–6. DOI:10.1001/archinte.167.11.1172. PMID 17563026. Research Blogging.
  3. Beckman HB, Frankel RM (1984). "The effect of physician behavior on the collection of data". Ann. Intern. Med. 101 (5): 692–6. PMID 6486600[e]
  4. Dyche L, Swiderski D (2005). "The effect of physician solicitation approaches on ability to identify patient concerns". Journal of general internal medicine : official journal of the Society for Research and Education in Primary Care Internal Medicine 20 (3): 267–70. DOI:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2005.40266.x. PMID 15836531. Research Blogging.
  5. Thomas Mordekhai Laurence (2004). Extreme Clinic -- An Outpatient Doctor's Guide to the Perfect 7 Minute Visit. Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus. ISBN 1-56053-603-9. 
  6. Heritage J, Robinson JD, Elliott MN, Beckett M, Wilkes M (2007). "Reducing patients' unmet concerns in primary care: the difference one word can make". Journal of general internal medicine : official journal of the Society for Research and Education in Primary Care Internal Medicine 22 (10): 1429–33. DOI:10.1007/s11606-007-0279-0. PMID 17674111. Research Blogging.