A Study of Doctors' and Patients' Perceptions of Information Processing and Communication Competence During the Medical Interview

Abstract

Although considerable attention has been given to doctor-patient communica- tion, little work has examined how doctors and patients process information obtained through interaction. The purpose of this research was to examine differences in doctors' and patients' thoughts and feelings and their perceptions of information exchange and relational communication during a medical interview. The results indicate that doctors and patients differ in their thoughts and feelings along several lines and in their views of communication functions. The results are discussed in terms of previous research on doctor-patient communi- cation and implications for communication skills training for both doctors and patients.