title: Presentation of patients' problems during triage in emergency medicine.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate different interactional patterns in presentation of patients' problems depending on whether the presentation is made by patients themselves, or by their accompanying persons.
  
  
  METHODS
  Routine provider-patient interactions during triage were video-recorded at an academic emergency department in Seoul, Korea. Using the method of conversation analysis, 242 recordings were transcribed and analyzed in terms of the extent of problem presentation and interactional practices used by the presenting party.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Problem presentation made by accompanying persons was significantly more extensive than that by patients, in terms of its length and the number of symptoms described. Patients tended to describe physical conditions they directly experience, such as pain, whereas accompanying persons tended to provide patients' conditions they observed as a third party, often with more objective information such as medical history.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared to patients who simply present their condition(s), accompanying persons may also communicate their reasonableness in seeking emergency care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Providers may utilize more facilitative questioning practices to get a fuller array of concerns when interacting with patients. When accompanying persons present the complaint, providers may acknowledge legitimacy of the visit and ask patients directly to better assess the severity of conditions patients themselves experience.
authors: Department of English Language and Literature, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: seunglee@yonsei.ac.kr.
authors: Seung-Hee
authors: SH
authors: Lee
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea.
authors: Chan Woong
authors: CW
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003142:Communication; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D010358:Patient Participation; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D056910:Republic of Korea; D014218:Triage; D014741:Video Recording
keywords: Conversation analysis; Emergency medicine; Problem presentation; Provider–patient communication; Triage