Hr. Winefield et al., PROCESS AND OUTCOMES IN GENERAL-PRACTICE CONSULTATIONS - PROBLEMS IN DEFINING HIGH-QUALITY CARE, Social science & medicine, 41(7), 1995, pp. 969-975
Citations number
22
Categorie Soggetti
Social Sciences, Biomedical","Public, Environmental & Occupation Heath
In order ro explore the relationships between the verbal interactions
of the consultation and several outcomes (patient health change, patie
nt compliance and the satisfaction of both doctor and patient), 21 Gen
eral Practitioners contributed ten audiotaped consultations each, from
consecutive consenting adult patients. The effects of GP sex and post
graduate training were also investigated, but were found to be minimal
. Patient health change was most clearly related to acuteness of sympt
oms at presentation, whereas reported compliance was predicted by pati
ent satisfaction after the consultation. Different consultations were
maximally satisfying for doctors and for patients, and patient and doc
tor satisfaction with specific consultations showed little correlation
. This result implies that the measurement of quality of care, in gene
ral practice at least, is a more complex task than has been assumed, a
nd in turn raises issues about whose definition of outcome is relevant
in discussing quality of care.