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How Does Your Doctor Talk with You? Preliminary Validation of a Brief Patient Self-Report Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician–Patient Interaction

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Abstract

The quality of physician–patient interaction is increasingly being recognized as an essential component of effective treatment. The present article reports on the development and validation of a brief patient self-report questionnaire (QQPPI) that assesses the quality of physician–patient interactions. Data were gathered from 147 patients and 19 physicians immediately after consultations in a tertiary care outpatient setting. The QQPPI displayed good psychometric properties, with high internal consistency and good item characteristics. The QQPPI total score showed variability between different physicians and was independent of patients’ gender, age, and education. The QQPPI featured high correlations with other quality-related measures and was not influenced by social desirability, or patients’ clinical characteristics. The QQPPI is a brief patient self-report questionnaire that allows assessment of the quality of physician–patient interactions during routine ambulatory care. It can also be used to evaluate physician communication training programs or for educational purposes.

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Abbreviations

QQPPI:

Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician–Patient Interaction

QHC:

Quality of health care

PSHC:

Patient satisfaction with health care

PPS:

Presumed patient satisfaction

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all participating patients and physicians.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychosomatic and General Internal Medicine, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Thibautstraße 2, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany

    Christiane Bieber, Knut G. Müller, Jennifer Nicolai, Mechthild Hartmann & Wolfgang Eich

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  1. Christiane Bieber
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  2. Knut G. Müller
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  3. Jennifer Nicolai
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  4. Mechthild Hartmann
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  5. Wolfgang Eich
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Correspondence to Christiane Bieber.

Appendix

Appendix

Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician–Patient Interaction (QQPPI)

The following are a series of statements and assertions concerning today’s consultation, including decisions and results. Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with these statements.

There are 5 possible responses to the following questions:

1 = “I do not agree”

2 = “I partly agree”

3 = “I agree “

4 = “I strongly agree”

5 = “I fully agree”

Beside each question, please indicate the answer that best reflects the experiences you had in the course of today’s consultation.

1

The physician seemed to be genuinely interested in my problems.a

2

The physician gave me detailed information about the available treatment options.

3

I felt I could have trusted the physician with my private problems.b

4

The physician and I made all treatment decisions together.

5

The physician’s explanations were easy to understand.

6

The physician spent sufficient time on my consultation.

7

The physician spoke to me in detail about the risks and side effects of the proposed treatment.

8

The physician understood my needs and problems and took them seriously.

9

The physician did all he/she could to put me at ease.b

10

The doctor asked about how my illness affects my everyday life.a

11

The doctor gave me enough time to talk about all my problems.a

12

The physician respects the fact that I may have a different opinion regarding treatment.

13

The physician gave me a thorough examination.

14

The physician gave me detailed information about my illness.

  1. aThese items were taken from the Grogan Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (Grogan et al., 2000)
  2. bThese items were taken from the German version of the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (Langewitz et al., 1995)

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Bieber, C., Müller, K.G., Nicolai, J. et al. How Does Your Doctor Talk with You? Preliminary Validation of a Brief Patient Self-Report Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician–Patient Interaction. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 17, 125–136 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-010-9189-0

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