Developments in Brief : Rx for Doctors: Take More Time to Listen to Patient’s Complaints

A study of 74 videotaped conversations between doctors and patients found that the physicians are not good listeners and therefore often don’t find out enough about a patient’s ailments.

The study found that doctors were quick to interrupt patients, rarely allowing them to explain completely what was bothering them, said Dr. Howard B. Beckman of the Wayne State University Medical School in Detroit. “Most patients have between one and five things that they want to talk about. If you interrupt the person after the first thing, they may not get back to their other problems. In fact, in our subsequent analysis, we found in only half the visits do people get all their symptoms out.”

In the study, doctors on average interrupted patients after only 18 seconds. Just 23% of patients said they were able to complete their opening statement.