Krzysztof Sobcza , Katarzyna Leoniuk, Leszek Pawłowski, Natalia Spolak
The aim of the study was to evaluate medical communication from the perspective of clinical doctors and their patients. Clinicians and clinical patients were surveyed. A proprietary tool prepared by an interdisciplinary team of specialists was used. The survey tools consisted of closed questions analogous for both groups on the assessment of the quality of medical communication. The mean score of patients' satisfaction with their communication with doctors on an 11-degree scale was 6.79. Statistically, the highest number of objections was reported by university-educated women in the 30-40 age range. Only one in two patients declared that they received up-to-date medical information from the attending physician. Although all doctors interviewed felt that they provided information in a clear and precise manner, 38.8% patients revealed that they were left with doubts after speaking to their doctor. As many as 77.4% patients stated that they had not been sufficiently informed about possible complications and therapeutic risks, although 96.9% doctors declared that they had communicated this kind of message. Conclusions: The analysis profile indicated a satisfactory assessment of the quality of medical communication. At the same time, patients signalled the existence of a significant deficit in terms of receiving ongoing information about diagnostic and therapeutic processes.