abstract: Different perspectives on communication quality and emotional functioning during routine oncology consultations

Results

The patients’ ratings of communication quality differed significantly from those of both the physician and observer. Observer and physician scores did not differ significantly. Physicians rated emotional functioning as discussed more often than was reported from patient and observer perspectives.

Conclusion

The patients’ view of the quality of communication differed from that of the physician and observer. Whether emotional functioning was discussed or not was also perceived differently by patients, physicians, and observer.

"I'm a patient, not a consumer" | KevinMD.com (discussion concerning the use of the terms patient vs consumer

Cost Consciousness in Patient Care — What Is Medical Education’s Responsibility? NEJM

Does computer use in patient-physician encounters influence patient satisfaction?

EDITOR’S KEY POINTS

• Patient-physician communication is central to every physician’s practice and to patient satisfaction. Physicians have been concerned that the introduction of computers into patient consultations will lead to a breakdown of communication.
  
• This study sought to examine patients’ opinions about the effects of computer use on patient-physician interaction and on their satisfaction with their visits.
  
• Results of this study suggest that concerns about computer use negatively affecting patient-physician relationships and patient satisfaction are largely unfounded. Most patients had no preference for whether computers were used or not, and computer use actually seemed to have a positive effect on overall satisfaction. Other studies have shown that patients’ main concerns about computer use have to do with privacy, but in this study only 3.4% of respondents were concerned about a "negative" or "very negative" effect on privacy.

Satisfaction with care among low-income women with breast cancer

"Greater information giving was associated with greater satisfaction"

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 E-health revolution; Island doctors and nurses first in B.C. to have instant access to patients' histories

Also see my short comment

Doctor and Patient - Holding Doctors Accountable for Medical Errors - NYTimes.com

Editorial Comment: The emphasis of this article seems to place a rather large burden on physicians which is not totally warranted.

Doctor and Patient - Holding Doctors Accountable for Medical Errors - NYTimes.com

Q. What is a major patient safety area that still needs to be addressed?
A. Ten years ago, we approached patient safety as a series of system flaws; we believed that most errors were committed by good competent people doing something no more complicated than forgetting a cellphone. But in the last few years some of us in the patient safety field have begun to feel uneasy about that approach. When there are reasonably safe standards available, what do you do when people simply don’t adhere to them? At some point, it’s no longer a “systems problem.”

Comparisons of Patient and Physician Expectations for Cancer Survivorship Care

Purpose: To compare expectations for cancer survivorship care between patients and their physicians and between primary care providers (PCPs) and oncologists.

Conclusion: Patients and physicians have discordant expectations with respect to the roles of PCPs and oncologists in cancer survivorship care. Uncertainties around physician roles and responsibilities can lead to deficiencies in care, supporting the need to make survivorship care planning a standard component in cancer management.