Factors that influence the patient centredness of a consultation

Research suggests that patients are more satisfied with patient-centred consultations than with doctor-centred consultations and that some health measures are positively influenced by this type of consultation. Research on the factors that influence the patient centredness of the consultation is sparse but suggests that women doctors are more patient centred than men doctors.

A study was designed, first, to confirm or reject the suggestion that women general practitioners are more patient centred than men general practitioners and, secondly, to determine some of the factors that might influence the patient centredness of a general practitioner.

The audiotaped consultations of 41 general practitioners were analysed using an instrument designed to measure patient centredness. The general practitioners were selected from a group of volunteers to represent both sexes as well as a wide range of age and experience.

The results of the analysis showed that women general practitioners, particularly trainers, had higher patient-centredness scores than men general practitioners. This behaviour is characterized by an increased frequency of open questions and greater attention to patient offers (anything of potential significance that a patient brings to the general practitioner consultation). Additionally, the combination of sexes in a consultation seemed to have an effect on the interaction, with woman general practitioner/female patient dyads (pairings) having the highest median patient-centredness score, woman general practitioner/male patient and man general practitioner/male patient dyads scoring the same as each other and man general practitioner/female patient dyads having the lowest median scores.

The results suggest that women general practitioners, in this sample, were more patient centred than men general practitioners. The results also suggest that inherent inequalities exist, with female patients receiving a more patient-centred service from general practitioners of their own sex than from general practitioners of the opposite sex. Male patients, on the other hand, seemed to fare equally well, irrespective of the sex of their general practitioner. Training is required to address these inequalities and to improve the level of patient centredness in the consultation.