Clinical communication – a comparison of patients’ and doctors’ opinions

The main aim of the research was to assess medical communication from the point of view of clinicians and their patients. 100 doctors and 378 patients were included in the study. Original tools prepared by the interdisciplinary team were used during the research. The research tools consisted of closed questions concerning the quality assessment of medical communication, and they were the same for both groups. Discontinuous variables as well as the statistical heterogeneity of groups were analysed with Pearson’s χ² test, assessing the value p < 0.05 as significant. The mean score for satisfaction with doctor–patient communication given by patients in a 1–11 point scale was 6.79 (median 8.0 points). Objections were raised mostly by women with higher education, aged 30–40 years. Only one out of two patients declared that he/she was continuously updated with medical information by the attending physician. Although all the surveyed doctors considered that the clinical information given by them was clear and accurate, 38.8% of patients said that they were left with doubts after conversations with their doctors. As many as 77.4% of patients said that they were not sufficiently informed about possible complications and therapeutic risks, while 96.9% of doctors claimed that they provided this kind of information. Analyses show that patients were satisfied with the quality of medical communication. On the other hand, the study revealed a deficit in the relationship between patients and doctors, which was caused by the fact that patients were not informed about the diagnostic and therapeutic process.