The physician's self-evaluation of the consultation and patient outcome: A longitudinal study

Figures & data

Table I. Correlation between the physician's perception of the consultation and patients' subjective change in health, sick leave, and drug compliance one month after the consultation.

		Change in health^a,b			Sick leave^c			Drug compliance^a,d
	Item	n	β	p	n	OR	p	n	β	p
1	The patient told me the true reason for his/her visit	272	< 0	0.81	214	0.99 (0.99–1.0)	0.058	150	> 0	0.78
2	I listened intensely to the patient	272	> 0	0.13	214	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.38	150	> 0	0.90
3	The patient talked about his/her worries	272	> 0	0.17	214	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.51	150	< 0	0.62
4	The patient received sufficient time	272	> 0	0.15	214	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.68	150	> 0	0.97
5	We talked about the patient's view of the reason for complaints	272	> 0	0.44	214	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.43	150	> 0	0.35
6	We agreed on the reason for the patient's complaints	272	> 0	0.0070	213	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.35	149	> 0	0.43
7	The patient received concise information about the treatment, for example general advice, medication, referrals	272	> 0	0.024	214	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.93	150	> 0	0.41
8	The patient's expectation of the visit was largely fulfilled	272	> 0	< 0.0001	214	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.54	150	< 0	0.73
9	The patient was largely satisfied with the visit	272	> 0	< 0.0001	214	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.96	150	> 0	0.30
10	The patient felt her problems were taken seriously	270	> 0	0.003	212	1.0 (0.99 – 1.0)	0.51	148	> 0	0.88

Notes: ^aResult of multiple linear regression showing association between rank for the response by the patient in the telephone interview and rank for physician response in the consultation. Since the regression coefficient (β) describes the association between two ranks its exact value cannot be given a meaningful interpretation. Thus, it is only indicated if β is above or below zero. ^bPatient's perceived change in health one month after consultation. ^cSick-leave excluded patients over 65 years and those on permanent sick leave. Logistic regression was used. For OR 95% confidence interval is given within parentheses. ^dPrescription according to the following alternatives: yes, no, don't know, if yes did or did you not take the medicine, if yes did you take it according to instructions. P-values below 0.05 are marked in bold.

Table II. Correlation between the patient's perception of the consultation and patients' subjective change in health, sick leave, and drug compliance one month after the consultation.

		Change in health^a,b			Sick leave^c			Drug compliance^a,d
	Item	n	β	p	n	OR	p	β	p	n
1	I told the physician about the true reason for my visit	267	> 0	0.50	211	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.55	< 0	0.20	147
2	I felt the physician listened intensely to me	271	< 0	0.61	213	0.99 (0.98–1.0)	0.12	< 0	0.13	149
3	I told the physician about my worries	268	> 0	0.54	212	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.62	< 0	0.60	148
4	I received sufficient time	270	> 0	0.97	213	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.38	< 0	0.08	148
5	We talked about my view of the reason for my complaints	263	< 0	0.99	208	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.21	< 0	0.12	148
6	We agreed on the reason for my complaints	252	> 0	0.20	201	1.0 (1.0–1.0)	0.71	< 0	0.0058	143
7	I received concise information about the treatment, for example general advice, medication, referrals	263	> 0	0.002	209	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.92	< 0	0.41	150
8	My expectation of the visit was largely fulfilled	270	> 0	0.13	214	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.74	< 0	0.58	149
9	I was largely satisfied with the visit	271	> 0	0.19	213	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.78	< 0	0.22	149
10	I felt my problems were taken seriously	272	> 0	0.17	214	1.0 (0.99–1.0)	0.39	< 0	0.14	150

Notes: ^aResult of multiple linear regression showing association between rank for the response by the patient in the telephone interview and rank for physician response in the consultation. Since the regression coefficient (β) describes the association between two ranks its exact value cannot be given a meaningful interpretation. Thus, it is only indicated if β is above or below zero. ^bPatient's perceived change in health one month after consultation. ^cSick-leave excluded patients over 65 years and those on permanent sick leave. Logistic regression was used. For OR 95% confidence interval is given within parentheses. ^dPrescription according to the following alternatives: yes, no, don't know, if yes did or did you not take the medicine, if yes did you take it according to instructions. P-values below 0.05 are marked in bold.