An Overview of Research on Medical Interviewing

Abstract

In the past, medical educators relegated the medical interview and patient/clinician relationships to the art of medicine, which, like other arts, was believed to be inborn or learned by precept. The hallowed and often idealized patient/clinician relationship was seldom subject to inquiry or criticism. Recent years have seen a more systematic approach. This chapter briefly reviews the development of interview research in the English language literature and reviews some of the general problems encountered by investigators. Like the other chapters in this section, it is written for those wishing to better understand the empirical basis of the precepts described in this book and for investigators outside the field needing an overview of research on the medical interview and related topics.