Medically unexplained symptoms: how often and why are they missed?
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We assessed risk factors affecting the provisional diagnosis of medically unexplained symptoms made by physicians in new patients, in 526 clinical encounters. Comparisons were made between the doctor's initial assessments regarding the nature of symptoms, and the final diagnosis. Physicians were more likely to err on the side of diagnosing the symptoms as medically explained rather than unexplained. When physicians perceived the interaction with the patient to be positive, they were more likely to make a provisional diagnosis that the symptoms were explained. Conversely, a negative perception of the interaction was associated with an increased likelihood of viewing symptoms as medically unexplained. Physicians should be aware of the effect of their own perceptions on their diagnostic behaviour. (+info)
Situational trust and co-operative partnerships between physicians and their patients: a theoretical explanation transferable from business practice.
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A model to explain interpersonal trust development, and its consequences for co-operative behaviour in doctor/patient partnerships derived from the context of business relationships is applied to patient/physician relationships. Threshold barriers exist against all human behaviours or actions and trust is the process by which barriers to co-operation and compliance are overcome. Dispositional trust (a psychological trait to be trusting) is dominant in the early stages of a relationship and contributes to the weight of subsequent trust development. Co-operative behaviour or compliance ultimately requires a secure situational trust emerging from consultations, which is carried forward as learnt trust and modified in each subsequent consultation. The model comprises three types of situational trust (calculus-based, knowledge-based, and identification trust) and five co-operation criteria from which to determine an individual's tendency for co- operative behaviour. These model components can be identified and mapped from a range of qualitative data, with the aim of enhancing co-operative behaviour and efficiently achieving optimal patient compliance. (+info)
Expert practice in physical therapy.
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BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the dimensions of clinical expertise in physical therapy practice across 4 clinical specialty areas: geriatrics, neurology, orthopedics, and pediatrics. SUBJECTS: Subjects were 12 peer-designated expert physical therapists nominated by the leaders of the American Physical Therapy Association sections for geriatrics, neurology, orthopedics, and pediatrics. METHODS: Guided by a grounded theory approach, a multiple case study research design was used with each of the 4 investigators studying 3 therapists working in one clinical area. Data were obtained through nonparticipant observation, interviews, review of documents, and analysis of structured tasks. Videotapes made during selected therapist-patient treatment sessions were used as a stimulus for the expert therapist interviews. Data were transcribed, coded, and analyzed through the development of 12 case reports and 4 composite case studies, one for each specialty area. RESULTS: A theoretical model of expert practice in physical therapy was developed that included 4 dimensions: (1) a dynamic, multidimensional knowledge base that is patient-centered and evolves through therapist reflection, (2) a clinical reasoning process that is embedded in a collaborative, problem-solving venture with the patient, (3) a central focus on movement assessment linked to patient function, and (4) consistent virtues seen in caring and commitment to patients. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: These findings build on previous research in physical therapy on expertise. The dimensions of expert practice in physical therapy have implications for physical therapy practice, education, and continued research. (+info)
Do better quality consultations result in better health? Relationship between quality of consultations and health status of patients with non-acute abdominal complaints in general practice.
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BACKGROUND: In theory, a positive relationship is expected between the quality of a consultation and a patient's subsequent health status. However, such a relationship has not yet been firmly established in daily practice. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study the relationship between the quality of the first consultation in a new episode of non-acute abdominal complaints and subsequent health status of patients in general practice. METHODS: Quality scores for 743 consultations were calculated on the basis of review criteria developed by expert panels. Functional health status was measured by the SIP (Sickness Impact Profile) at baseline, and at 1 and 6 months after the consultation. Multilevel regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the quality of consultations and health status, and to identify factors of influence on this relationship. RESULTS: In the majority of these patients (97%) health status improved regardless of consultation quality. In patients with malignant disease, and chronic colitis, however, an association between consultation quality and subsequent health status was found: in those with a high consultation quality score (>66-percentile) the health status deteriorated in the first month but improved over the following 5 months; in those with a low consultation quality score (<33-percentile) it deteriorated continuously. CONCLUSION: For the great majority of patients we found no relation between the quality of consultation and health status. However, for a very small subgroup of patients there is proof of benefit from better quality consultations. (+info)
Differences in diagnostic approach between family physicians and other specialists in patients with unintentional body weight loss.
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BACKGROUND: Unintentional weight loss is a diagnostic dilemma with diverse diagnostic possibilities for physicians. OBJECTIVES: Our study focused on the evaluation of differences in diagnostic approach between family physicians and physicians in other specialties. METHODS: Outpatients who visited National Taiwan University Hospital from January 1996 to December 1996 with unintentional weight loss of 5% or more within 6 months were recruited by a computer search. All data were obtained from a structured medical record audit. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the utilization of common diagnostic laboratory tests between the two groups. However, other specialists ordered more carcinoembryonic antigen tests (P < 0.01) and hepatitis B antigen tests (P < 0.05), but fewer upper gastrointestinal tract barium studies (P < 0.05) than family physicians. For patients without a definite final diagnosis, the diagnostic total costs for laboratory tests and imaging studies were lower for family physicians than other specialists (P < 0.01). For patients with biomedical disorders, the diagnostic cost was not significantly different between the two groups. For patients with psychological disorders, the costs for imaging studies were lower for family physicians than for other specialists (P < 0.05) but there was no significant difference in the total costs between these two groups. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the different approaches between the two groups are due to different training backgrounds and characteristics of practice. The patient-centred concepts of family physicians might be more cost-effective in dealing with undifferentiated problems. (+info)
GPs' treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections--a clinical judgement analysis in four European countries. DEP group. Drug Education Project.
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BACKGROUND: Non-adherence to recommendations for treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) is common, but the reasons are not sufficiently understood. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess and compare the influence of specific patient characteristics on GPs' treatment decisions for UTI in four European countries. METHODS: GPs in The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Germany were presented 18-26 case vignettes of UTI. Linear regression models were used to determine which patient characteristics predicted non-optimal decisions. RESULTS: Adherence to national recommendations varied both within and between countries, but there were remarkable similarities in the case characteristics predicting non-optimal decisions: a history of UTI and the patient's age were strongly related to prescription of second-choice antibiotics and longer treatment courses. CONCLUSION: In all countries many GPs were reluctant to follow the recommendations in UTI cases that they might perceive as being more complicated. (+info)
The diagnostic accuracy of Danish GPs in the diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions.
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BACKGROUND: The GP often has a primary function in assessing pigmented skin lesions in Denmark. No data are available on the diagnostic accuracy of this process. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study the sensitivity, specificity and positive prognostic value of the diagnosis made by 27 trained or trainee GPs. METHOD: We tested the diagnostic accuracy of the viewing of colour slides of pigmented skin lesions under standardized conditions at a seminar on skin cancer. Diagnostic accuracy was determined only for the clinically relevant diagnosis of benign or malignant. RESULTS: The median diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity) for the group as a whole was 0.75 (95% CI 0.65-0.80), the specificity was 0.70 (95% CI 0.68-0.79) and the positive predictive value 0.70 (95% CI 0.62-0.77). CONCLUSION: These values are comparable with previously published figures for trainee dermatologists, and it is therefore concluded that ongoing interest rather than basic training is the major determinant for clinical acumen. (+info)
Positron emission tomography: establishing priorities for health technology assessment.
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BACKGROUND: Positron emission tomography (PET) is an expensive diagnostic imaging technology. Despite the long history of PET development, the costs and effectiveness of its use in routine clinical practice remain unknown. Against this background of uncertainty regarding the clinical role of PET, the UK Standing Group on Health Technology requested a review of its current and potential role which would enable research priorities in this area to be established. OBJECTIVES: This 3-month project had two explicit objectives: (1) to review the state of knowledge regarding the clinical applications of PET; (2) to determine the key health technology assessment (HTA) research questions relating to the use of PET in the UK. METHODS: A literature review to ascertain the state of knowledge regarding the clinical applications of PET and a three-round Delphi study to inform the key HTA research questions relating to the use of PET in the UK were undertaken. The results of an earlier systematic review, published by the Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) in the USA in 1996, were used as the starting point for the literature review. The VHA review was updated and extended by means of MEDLINE and Cochrane Library database searches. Participants in the Delphi study were selected by discussion with five individuals in the UK with an interest in, and awareness of, developments in PET. As a result of their suggestions, 43 individuals were initially invited to participate, of whom two did not feel appropriately qualified. Questionnaires were sent by facsimile to all invited participants, who were asked to return the completed forms by facsimile within a week. The content and structure of the Delphi study was informed by the results of the literature review. The responses and comments of the participants were a major source of information for this report. RESULTS: Clinical applications for PET have been advocated in three broad disease groups: oncology, cardiology and neuropsychiatric disorders. There are currently four PET modalities that need to be considered when assessing its potential clinical role in the UK: full ring PET scanners operating in two or three dimensions (available at five sites); partial ring rotating PET scanners (one currently operating in the UK); coincidence imaging with modified gamma camera technology; and high-energy collimator imaging of 511 keV photons with modified gamma camera technology. There is a paucity of available evidence relating to the cost-effectiveness of the various PET modalities in all of the clinical indications for which the technology is currently being advocated. In addition, many existing reports on the diagnostic accuracy of PET are limited because they are liable to bias and often relate only to very small patient numbers. The results of the Delphi study indicated that the four most important research priorities for the NHS, in descending order of their importance, are: (1) the relative cost-effectiveness of (a) full ring PET, (b) gamma camera PET using coincidence imaging and (c) existing diagnostic strategies to determine staging prior to operative intervention for lung cancer; (2) partial ring PET compared with full ring PET in oncology (3) the relative cost-effectiveness of (a) full ring PET, (b) gamma camera PET using coincidence imaging and (c) existing diagnostic strategies to stage and monitor treatment response in breast cancer; (4) the relative cost-effectiveness of (a) gamma camera PET using coincidence imaging and (b) 511 keV collimated positron imaging for assessing myocardial viability when selecting patients for revascularisation surgery. Vignettes describing each of the research priorities are provided in the main report. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this project, which was undertaken rapidly in order to inform HTA research prioritization in the UK, provide a contemporary overview of the potential clinical role for PET in the NHS. Evidence is needed that using PET as a diagnostic (+info)