What do General Practitioners Discuss with their Patients

Exploring the Relationship between Content of Medical Consultations and Treatment Decisions

Bibliographic Data

ID4227992
AuthorsAntonietta Di Caccavo (Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Mid Glamorgan CF37 1DL, UK [Tel. (01443) 482066 direct line, (01443) 482551 dept. office; Fax (01443) 482138; ]), Ann Ley (Department of Clinical Psychology, South Devon Health Care NHS Trust, UK), Fraser Reid (University of Plymouth)
Year2000
Volume5
Issue1
Pages87-97
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Health Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-1053 • E-ISSN: 1461-7277
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/135910530000500101
PMID22048827
OpenAlexW1976403227
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited19

Thirty audiotaped and transcribed general practice consultations were used to develop a classification scheme to code the content of doctor-patient communication in primary care. Open coding was used to identify subject matter discussed by general practitioners in consultations featuring commonly presented problems such as respiratory, psychological and musculoskeletal complaints. The classification scheme was found to have an adequate inter-rater reliability (0.72) and was used in a pilot study to code a further 75 consultations featuring psychological problems as the main presenting complaints. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant relationships between what was discussed by general practitioners and the type of treatment decisions made ( F(16, 51) 2.12, p .01). Consultations in which general practitioners talked to their patients about mental coping strategies, social support and treatment options were less likely to end with decisions to prescribe drugs than consultations in which general practitioners did not discuss these subjects

Coding (social sciences · Content analysis · Coping (psychology · Family medicine · General practice · Mental health · Multivariate analysis · Psychiatry · Clinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Skills · Healthcare Systems and Technology · Medicine · Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare · Psychology · Clinical Psychology

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