Requesting care in a medical encounter: How patients make requests and how general practitioners respond
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: General practitioners (GPs) often deal with patient requests, yet little is known about the types of requests and how GPs respond. We used real-life Dutch consultations (recorded in 2015) to identify how care is requested in clinical practice. We analysed sixty-six consultations using an inductively and deductively developed codebook. Coders categorised five items of patient requests: type, speaker, formulation, GP response, and resolution. Correlations between these items were analysed with chi-square analyses. We identified 257 patient requests. Most requests concerned information or advice ( n = 191, 74.3 %). When patients requested medical care, they often did so indirectly (χ 2 (1)= 69.66, p < .001). Request type predicted the resolution: GPs were more likely to meet requests for information than for medical care (χ 2 (1) = 5.45, p = .019). More than half of the medical care requests that were followed by an explanation were not met ( n = 5, 55.6 %). When a request was not met, GPs used communication strategies such as offering alternatives, referencing examination results, and depersonalisation. Asking questions, co-construction of a request, and explaining are important diagnostic and therapeutic tools for GPs in conversing with the patient . These conversational strategies could be trained to help GPs evaluate requests while maintaining a good GP-patient relationship. • General practitioners (GPs) receive an average of four requests per consultation. • The majority of patients request information rather than medical care. • Medical care requests were more often indirectly formulated. • GPs more often met request for information than for medical care. • Explaining and asking questions are important tools for GPs.
Source: Patient Education and Counseling
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,350
OpenAlex ID: W4403147818