Analysis and coding of 263 audiotaped interactions between 33 primary care physicians and their patients in eight community-based, primary care clinics in Washington State, USA.
Physicians proactively used five types of process transparency to preview speech and actions. Four types of content transparency were used to explicate diagnosis and treatment, demystify medical language and concepts, and interpret biomedical information. Physicians spent the greatest proportion of clinic time explicating medical content.
The primacy of information exchange over process-oriented, relational communication was demonstrated. Proactive transparency appears promising to increase understanding and collaboration.
In patient-centered care where collaboration is the ideal, transparency in its various forms is a critical ingredient. Without much communicative effort, physicians who proactively communicated that an examination was over, that they were leaving the exam room briefly so patients could dress provided information that appeared to address patient uncertainty and demonstrated empathy and respect.