PubMed · 7624244
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L Cowling, J Evans. Bench marks.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7624244/
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CONTEXT: Previous research indicates physicians frequently choose a patient problem to explore before determining the patient's full spectrum of concerns. OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which experienced family physicians in various practice settings elicit the agenda of concerns patients bring to the office. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey using linguistic analysis of a convenience sample of 264 patient-physician interviews. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Primary care offices of 29 board-certified family physicians practicing in rural Washington (n = 1; 3%), semirural Colorado (n = 20; 69%), and urban settings in the United States and Canada (n = 8; 27%). Nine participants had fellowship training in communication skills and family counseling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient-physician verbal interactions, including physician solicitations of patient concerns, rate of completion of patient responses, length of time for patient responses, and frequency of late-arising patient concerns. RESULTS: Physicians solicited patient concerns in 199 interviews (75.4%). Patients' initial statements of concerns were completed in 74 interviews (28.0%). Physicians redirected the patient's opening statement after a mean of 23.1 seconds. Patients allowed to complete their statement of concerns used only 6 seconds more on average than those who were redirected before completion of concerns. Late-arising concerns were more common when physicians did not solicit patient concerns during the interview (34.9% vs 14.9%). Fellowship-trained physicians were more likely to solicit patient concerns and allow patients to complete their initial statement of concerns (44% vs 22%). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians often redirect patients' initial descriptions of their concerns. Once redirected, the descriptions are rarely completed. Consequences of incomplete initial descriptions include late-arising concerns and missed opportunities to gather potentially important patient data. Soliciting the patient's agenda takes little time and can improve interview efficiency and yield increased data.
CONTEXT: The growth of managed care has spurred re-evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of public health agencies and private health plans for providing public health services. Although rates of curable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States are the highest in the developed world, many clinicians and managed care organizations are not systematically providing high-quality, comprehensive STD-related services to their patients and the community. OBJECTIVE: To examine issues around managed care and STD prevention as a model for overcoming barriers that impede managed care organizations from providing comprehensive public health services and collaborating with health agencies. SETTING: Two-day invitational workshop. PARTICIPANTS: Representatives from 18 health plans, 10 public health agencies, 6 academic institutions, 1 purchasing coalition, and 5 other health organizations. RESULTS: Major obstacles include: turnover and heterogeneity in the health care system; deficiencies in clinical knowledge and skills; differences in organizational culture and language; low priority of STDs; inadequate public health surveillance data and performance measures; confidentiality concerns; and lack of coverage for sex partners. CONCLUSIONS: Potential approaches for addressing these barriers include: requiring that STD-related services be covered by Medicaid managed care programs; implementing performance measures; requiring collaborative activities; promoting education of and outreach to stakeholders; funding of pilot projects; and researching the cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness of STD-related services for various populations.
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