title: Patients speak: what's really important about bedside interactions with physician teams.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although it may take up relatively little time, hospitalized patients' interactions with their physicians are important elements of their hospital experience.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We conducted a qualitative study to explore what is important to patients about bedside interactions with their physician teams.
  
  
  METHODS
  We interviewed medical inpatients and used grounded theory methodology to analyze interview transcripts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We recruited 17 patients from an academic medical center including a university hospital and a Veterans Administration (VA) hospital. We found that important aspects of patient-team interactions included the exchange of information, evidence of caring from their team, involvement in teaching, knowing the team members, and bedside manner. Patients also described team characteristics that were important to them such as team attributes and intrateam collaboration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This model clarifies the aspects of bedside interactions that patients value and will allow physicians to focus their limited time to the benefit of their patients.
authors.affiliation: Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. kathlyn.fletcher@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Kathlyn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Furney
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Stern
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010362:Patients' Rooms; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations