Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 31, 2025
E-Patient Counseling Trial E-PACO: Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
Effect of Bedside Compared With Outside the Room Patient Case Presentation on Patients' Knowledge About Their Medical
Christoph Becker1, Martina Gamp1, Philipp Schuetz2
1University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland (C.B., M.G., K.B., A.V., S.H., K.M., M.W., E.T.).
Background:
Although bedside case presentation contributes to patient-centered care through active patient participation in medical discussions, the complexity of medical information and jargon-induced confusion may cause misunderstandings and patient discomfort.
Objective:
To compare bedside versus outside the room patient case presentation regarding patients' knowledge about their medical care.
Design:
Randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03210987).
Setting:
3 Swiss teaching hospitals.
Patients:
Adult medical patients who were hospitalized.
Intervention:
Patients were randomly assigned to bedside or outside the room case presentation.
Measurements:
The primary endpoint was patients' average knowledge of 3 dimensions of their medical care (each rated on a visual analogue scale from 0 to 100): understanding their disease, the therapeutic approach being used, and further plans for care.
Results:
Compared with patients in the outside the room group (n = 443), those in the bedside presentation group (n = 476) reported similar knowledge about their medical care (mean, 79.5 points [SD, 21.6] vs. 79.4 points [SD, 19.8]; adjusted difference, 0.09 points [95% CI, -2.58 to 2.76 points]; P = 0.95). Also, an objective rating of patient knowledge by the study team was similar for the 2 groups, but the bedside presentation group had higher ratings of confusion about medical jargon and uncertainty caused by team discussions. Bedside ward rounds were more efficient (mean, 11.89 minutes per patient [SD, 4.92] vs. 14.14 minutes per patient [SD, 5.65]; adjusted difference, -2.31 minutes [CI, -2.98 to -1.63 minutes]; P < 0.001).
Limitation:
Only Swiss hospitals and medical patients were included.
Conclusion:
Compared with outside the room case presentation, bedside case presentation was shorter and resulted in similar patient knowledge, but sensitive topics were more often avoided and patient confusion was higher. Physicians presenting at the bedside need to be skilled in the use of medical language to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.
Primary Funding Source:
Swiss National Foundation (10531C_ 182422).
More Related Videos
04:53A Clinical Trial Assessing the Safety, Efficacy, and Delivery of Olive-Oil-Based Three-Chamber Bags for Parenteral Nutrition
Published on: September 20, 2019
08:50How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants
Published on: December 14, 2014
Related Concept Videos
01:11Blinding
02:07Blind Procedures
01:13Patient-centered Care
01:54The Placebo Effect
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
01:15Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients