Are physicians and patients in agreement? Exploring dyadic concordance

Area of Science:

• Medical Communication
• Health Services Research
• Patient-Physician Relationship

Background:

• Dyadic concordance, the agreement between physicians and patients on clinical encounters, is crucial for effective healthcare.
• Existing research highlights potential disparities in perception between healthcare providers and patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine informational and interactional concordance in physician-patient dyads.
• To identify factors influencing these concordances.
• To assess the utility of a paired survey method in measuring concordance.

Main Methods:

• A convenience sample of 50 physician-patient dyads participated.
• A paired survey method was employed to compare physician and patient reports.
• Data collected included perceptions of patient information, confidence, trust, and explanation quality.

Main Results:

• Significant informational discordances were found, with physicians underestimating patient pain and overestimating patient education.
• Interactional discordances included physicians overestimating patient understanding and trust.
• Discordances correlated with patient dissatisfaction, unanswered questions, and perceived insufficient physician time.

Conclusions:

• The paired survey method effectively identified critical physician-patient discordances.
• These discordances can negatively impact medical practice and patient satisfaction.
• The method offers a valuable tool for improving health communication and education in clinical settings.