Better patient-doctor communication – a survey and focus group study

The study explored barriers to effective communication between doctors and patients, and to encourage patients to be more knowledgeable about their health. A survey was conducted with 128 people who commented on the effectiveness of the process of consulting their doctor and rated a number of alternatives to face-to-face consultations. A focus group explored the topics further and a range of possible solutions to address current barriers were suggested. These include: considering alternative methods for GP consultation, providing new systems to give doctors better overviews of the patient population, devising new methods for patients to record information from consultations, use of diagnostic systems in the surgery and meetings or online forums to promote better informed patients.