Balancing Good Medicine and Good Communication

In this study, we explore communication between doctors and patients in health consultations from the doctor's perspective. Traditionally, health communication research has focused on patient perspectives and interpersonal issues in the health context. We argue that, although patient perspectives are important and there are interpersonal aspects, intergroup issues are more salient, and we need to also consider the doctor's views on the health consult. Ten doctors from Australia were interviewed and asked to describe their ideal health consultation, their communication behaviors during consultations, and the challenges they often experience during consultations. For reference and comparison, we asked 20 patients the same questions. Leximancer, a text-mining tool, mapped the key concepts for doctors and patients. Communication accommodation theory (CAT) was used to identify the communication strategies of each group. Analyses revealed that unlike patients, doctors report using several communication strategies in their consultations. More notably, accommodating to patients is not an easy task and doctors tend to employ a blended strategies approach when dealing with challenging patients. We discuss the implications of our findings for improving doctor-patient communication and for the advancement of CAT in the health context

Family medicine · Health communication · Medical education · MEDLINE · Communication · Interprofessional Education and Collaboration · Medicine · Primary Care and Health Outcomes · Psychology

• How Uncertainty Is Talked About in Language Discordant and Concordant Health Consultations

  Open Access•Vanda Nissen, Renata F I Meuter et al.•Health Expectations•2026

  Incluir item

• Communication Accommodation Theory

  H Giles•Communication Accommodation Theory•2016

  Incluir item

• Trust in the health care professional and health outcome

  Open Access•Johanna Birkhäuer, Jens Gaab et al.•PLoS ONE•2017

  Incluir item

• Evaluation of unsupervised semantic mapping of natural language with Leximancer concept mapping

  Open Access•Andrew E Smith, Michael S Humphreys•Behavior Research Methods•2006

  Incluir item

• How does communication heal? Pathways linking clinician–patient communication to health outcomes

  Open Access•Richard L Street, Gregory Makoul et al.•Patient Education and Counseling•2009

  Incluir item

• Cultural differences in medical communication

  Open Access•Barbara C Schouten, Ludwien Meeuwesen•Patient Education and Counseling•2006

  Incluir item

• Thematic Analysis

  Open Access•Braun, Victoria Clarke•Encyclopedia of Quality of Life…•2022

  Incluir item

• The Routledge Handbook of Health Communication

  Teresa L Thompson, Alicia Dorsey et al.•Handbook of Health Communication•2003

  Incluir item

• How Do Patients Define Satisfaction? The Role of Patient Perceptions of Their Participation and Health Provider Emotional Expression

  Susan C Baker, Susan Baker et al.•Health Communication•2021

  Incluir item

• Exploring Patients’ Trust from a New Perspective. A Text-Analysis Study

  Bernardo Colombo, Benjamin Aurelio et al.•Health Communication•2023

  Incluir item

• Emphasizing “Communication” in Health Communication

  Open Access•Roxanne Parrott•Journal of Communication•2004

  Incluir item

• Defining and measuring patient‐centred care

  Open Access•Maggie Lawrence, Sue Kinn•Health Expectations•2012

  Incluir item

• Investigating strategies used by hospital pharmacists to effectively communicate with patients during medication counselling

  Open Access•Bernadette A M Chevalier, Bernadette M Watson et al.•Health Expectations•2017

  Incluir item

• Time as a Key Topic in Health Professionals’ Perceptions of Clinical Handovers

  Open Access•Bernadette M Watson, Liz Jones et al.•Global Qualitative Nursing Research•2014

  Incluir item

• Investigating patients with an immigration background in Canada

  Open Access•Amanda Whittal, Sonia Lippke•BMC Public Health•2015

  Incluir item

• Supporting thinking on sample sizes for thematic analyses

  Open Access•Andrew J B Fugard, Henry W W Potts•International Journal of Social…•2015

  Incluir item

• Conversation Analysis of Communication in Medical Care

  Rebecca Barnes•Research on Language and Social…•2019

  Incluir item

• Doctor–patient relationship mediates the effects of shared decision making on health-related quality of life among women living with breast cancer

  Open Access•Nuworza Kugbey, Kwaku Oppong Asante et al.•South African Journal of Psychology•2019

  Incluir item

• Patient Participation in Medical Consultations

  Richard L Street, H Scott Gordon et al.•Medical Care•2005

  Incluir item

• Using thematic analysis in psychology

  Open Access•Braun, Virginia Braun et al.•Qualitative Research in Psychology•2006

  Incluir item

• Intergroup communication between hospital doctors

  Open Access•David G Hewett, Bernadette M Watson et al.•Social Science & Medicine•2009

  Incluir item

• How Patients Perceive Their Doctors' Communication

  Open Access•Susan C Baker, Susan Baker et al.•Journal of Language and Social…•2015

  Incluir item

• Impact of Identity on Support for New Roles in Health Care

  Open Access•Jenny Setchell, Lori E Leach et al.•Journal of Language and Social…•2015

  Incluir item