Patient-Centered Communication and Diagnostic Testing
The Annals of Family MedicinePublished 1 September 2005Open access
Ronald M. Epstein
Citations372
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.10
SNIP1.69
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TL;DR
Patient-centered communication is associated with fewer diagnostic testing expenditures but also with increased visit length, an effect primarily associated with the effect on testing expenditures.
Abstract
Patient-centered communication is associated with fewer diagnostic testing expenditures but also with increased visit length. Because costs and visit length may affect physicians' and health systems' willingness to endorse and practice a patient-centered approach, these results should be confirmed in future randomized trials.
Keywords
Health Professions
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