Concordance between patients' information preferences and general practitioners' perceptions

Abstract

Patients consulting their general practitioners were asked before the appointment to indicate their preferences for information about aetiology, diagnosis. prognosis. treatment and social effects of the illness. Subsequent to the consultation, they reported their degree of satisfaction with the interview on a modified version of the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale. The general practitioners were asked about their perceptions of what kind of information the patients most preferred and also completed a scale designed to measure their own degree of satisfaction with the consultation. The results indicated that, although patients preferred information about prognosis and diagnosis, the doctors perceived a greater demand for treatment information. Both parties tended to be highly satisfied with the encounters, but there was little relationship between patients' and doctors' levels of satisfaction. Nor were the parties more satisfied when the doctor had gained an accurate judgement of preferences.