Have you really addressed your patient's concerns?

As family physicians, we often strive to provide patient-centered care and place great value on communicating effectively with patients. We get to know our patients, their families and their concerns over time, and very often patients appreciate the care they receive. Despite our efforts, however, between 30 percent and 80 percent of patients’ expectations are not met in routine primary care visits. Often, important concerns remain unaddressed because the physician is not aware of the patient’s worries. Listening to audio recordings of patientphysician visits provides some insight into physician behaviors that keep patients from disclosing their concerns. For example, physicians often redirect patients at the beginning of the visit, giving patients less than 30 seconds to express their concerns. Later in the visit, physicians tend not to involve patients in decision making and, in general, rarely express empathy. Patients