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Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -)

Published in:

01-08-2018 | Review Article

Assessment of patient concerns: a review

Authors: Jemima Nilan, Deepak Doltani, Dominic Harmon

Published in: Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) | Issue 3/2018

Abstract

Background

Patient-centred communication is the mainstay of the medical consultation. It includes the assessment of patient concerns and is important in building the doctor-patient therapeutic relationship. Our aim was to perform a literature review to identify relevance of patient concern assessment, to identify what concerns are encountered in various clinical settings and to explore the different methodologies used to obtain them.

Methods

A narrative review was performed.

Results

Addressing patient concerns is associated with increased patient satisfaction. Unvoiced concerns are associated with unresolved health issues and poor doctor-patient relationships. Different specialities have focused on different aspects of concern assessment. Patient concern assessment studies are mostly qualitative in nature. Not all qualitative methods give similar results. Interviews are more reliable sources of information than questionnaires as no one questionnaire captures all patient concerns. The location where interviews take place is also relevant.

Conclusions

Assessing patient concerns is associated with positive outcomes. Patient concerns are handled differently by different clinical specialties. Various methodologies have been used for concern assessment. Interviews and questionnaires can often yield different results.

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Title: Assessment of patient concerns: a review
Authors: Jemima Nilan
Deepak Doltani
Dominic Harmon
Publication date: 01-08-2018
Publisher: Springer London
Published in: Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) / Issue 3/2018
Print ISSN: 0021-1265
Electronic ISSN: 1863-4362
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-018-1741-1

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