Ratings of Physician Communication by Real and Standardized Patients
Ann Fam Med Fiscella et al.
5: 151
The Article in Brief
Ratings of Physician Communication by Real and Standardized Patients
Kevin Fiscella, MD, MPH, and colleagues
Background This study examines the strengths and limitations of two methods of rating doctors’ communication skills. The two methods are ratings by real patients and ratings by standardized patients (people who are trained to portray specific patient cases in predetermined ways).
What This Study Found Trained standardized patients, who visit a doctor unannounced, provide a more objective (though much narrower) assessment of doctors’ communication skills than do real patients. Ratings of doctors’ communication by standardized patients have better psychometric (statistical and psychological) properties than ratings by real patients. Ratings by real patients and standardized patients provide different information.
Implications
- Real and standardized patients rate doctors’ communication styles differently.
- Differences in ratings by standardized and real patients may be due to differences in their relationship with the doctor (that is, an ongoing relationship for the real patient vs a one-time visit fo
- Both standardized and real patients provide useful information for understanding the clinician-patient relationship.
