BMJ  2004;329:502 (28 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7464.502

Commentary

The gap between doctors' and patients' perceptions

¹ BMJ Learning, BMA House, London WC1H 9JR kmwalsh@bmjgroup.com

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

During her husband's consultation Mrs Prior mentioned three symptoms of her own: itching, cystitis, and a rash.¹ She mentioned them as a "by the way," and her general practitioner saw her and did some blood tests. Would you be so patient? Or would you ask her to come back? There is no right answer to this question but, reading between the lines, perhaps the primary purpose of the consultation was to discuss her problems. Respondents on bmj.com thought that this was common and that the reasons for it included not wanting to have to make a separate appointment or to wait and, in some countries, not wanting to have to pay. Maybe she thought her problems were trivial or maybe she was afraid that they were not and wanted to downplay them to herself and her husband and her doctor.

Whatever her reasons, the literature suggests that doctors could be . . . [Full text of this article]

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