Abstract
BACKGROUND
Effective treatments can be rendered useless by poor patient recall of treatment instructions. Studies suggest that patients forget a great deal of important information and that recall can be increased through recall-promoting behaviors (RPBs) like repetition or summarization.
OBJECTIVE
To assess how frequently RPBs are used in primary care, and to reveal how they might be applied more effectively.
DESIGN
Recordings of 49 unannounced standardized patient (SP) visits were obtained using hidden audiorecorders. All SPs presented with typical gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms. Transcripts were coded for treatment recommendations and RPBs.
PARTICIPANTS
Forty-nine primary care physicians.
RESULTS
Of 1,140 RPBs, 53.7% were repetitions, 28.2% were communication of the rationale for a treatment, 11.7% were categorizations of treatments (i.e., stating that a treatment could be placed into a treatment category, such as medication-related or lifestyle-related categories), and 3.8% were emphasis of a recommendation’s importance. Physicians varied substantially in their use of most RPBs, although no physicians summarized or asked patients to restate recommendations. The number of RPBs was positively correlated with visit length.
CONCLUSIONS
Primary care physicians apply most RPBs inconsistently, do not utilize several RPBs that are particularly helpful, and may use RPBs inefficiently. Simple principles guiding RPB use may help physicians apply these communication tools more effectively.
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Acknowledgments
We are indebted to the superb actors (SPs) and to the participating physicians and their office employees. We thank Stephen Lurie, MD, PhD, for his thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of this paper, and Sean Meldrum for his assistance with data management. Some of the contents of this paper were presented at the International Conference on Communication in Health Care, Northwestern University, October 2005.
Funding support
Patient Centered Care and Health Care Costs, AHRQ R01-HS1610-01A1, Ronald Epstein, Principal Investigator.
Conflict of Interest
None disclosed.
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Silberman, J., Tentler, A., Ramgopal, R. et al. Recall-Promoting Physician Behaviors in Primary Care. J GEN INTERN MED 23, 1487–1490 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0597-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-008-0597-x