INTERRUPTIONS DURING GENERAL-PRACTICE CONSULTATIONS - THE PATIENTS VIEW

Background. Although most aspects of the consultation have been extens ively reported there is very little information on the effects of inte rruptions on the consultation. Objective. We wished to discover the pa tients' view of interruptions. Methods. In this pilot study the source s and frequency of interruptions to the consultations of a single gene ral practitioner were measured. The effects of interruptions on 102 pa tients whose consultations were interrupted were then ascertained usin g a simple questionnaire. Results. The overall interruption rate was f ound to be 10.2%. The telephone was the commonest source of interrupti on, accounting for 50% of interruptions. Although most patients did no t perceive the interruption as having an important effect on the consu ltation, 20% of patients did feel that the interruption had a bad effe ct on the consultation and 40% of patients felt it would have been bet ter not to have been interrupted. A majority of patients (52%) did not feel that the reason for the interruption was important. Although mos t patients did not feel affected by the interruption, a significant mi nority (18%) of patients had a strongly negative emotional response to the interruption. Conclusions. In view of these findings the need for further work has been highlighted.