title: Rating Communication in GP Consultations: The Association Between Ratings Made by Patients and Trained Clinical Raters.
abstract: Patient evaluations of physician communication are widely used, but we know little about how these relate to professionally agreed norms of communication quality. We report an investigation into the association between patient assessments of communication quality and an observer-rated measure of communication competence. Consent was obtained to video record consultations with Family Practitioners in England, following which patients rated the physician's communication skills. A sample of consultation videos was subsequently evaluated by trained clinical raters using an instrument derived from the Calgary-Cambridge guide to the medical interview. Consultations scored highly for communication by clinical raters were also scored highly by patients. However, when clinical raters judged communication to be of lower quality, patient scores ranged from "poor" to "very good." Some patients may be inhibited from rating poor communication negatively. Patient evaluations can be useful for measuring relative performance of physicians' communication skills, but absolute scores should be interpreted with caution.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Jenni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, Devon, UK.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abel
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Elmore
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Newbould
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, Devon, UK.
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Davey
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Llanwarne
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, Devon, UK.
authors.forename: Inocencio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maramba
authors.affiliation: 3 Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paddison
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Silverman
authors.affiliation: 4 RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, Devon, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D014743:Videotape Recording
keywords: health care quality; health care quality measurement; health care surveys; patient experience; physician–patient communication