Medical word use in clinical encounters

Doctors often use medical language with their patients despite findings from a variety of studies that have shown that patients frequently misunderstand medical terminology. Little is known about the patterns of medical word use by doctors and patients during clinical encounters.

A content analysis of 16 verbatim transcripts of first clinical encounters between rheumatologists and newly referred patients was conducted to assess how doctors and patients introduced medical words. Medical words were identified via a computer program using a defined list.

Doctors did not introduce or use more medical words than patients, but the types of words that doctors and patients introduced did differ. The majority of patient-initiated medical words occurred during the history taking (94%). Doctors did not explain, or use as part of an explanation, the majority (79%) of the medical words they introduced, and patients seldom responded in a way that would indicate whether or not they had correctly interpreted those terms. There was relatively little repetition of medical words within or even across encounters.

This study provides insights into how the use of medical terminology could contribute to misunderstanding. Findings suggest that steps already promoted in the literature to improve doctor-patient communication may also ameliorate potential problems arising from the use of medical terminology.