[Patients are Satisfied with the Physician-Patient Communication: A Pilot Study Applying the "Individual Clinician Feedback" Questionnaire].

AIM OF THE STUDY: Patient-centeredness as an essential aspect of quality of patient care is becoming increasingly important. The aim of the pilot study is to gain insight into the physician-patient communication from the patient's perspective. A German questionnaire in a maximum care hospital was tested.

METHODS: The German "Individual Clinician Feedback" questionnaire (ICF) was tested in a pilot study in the special consultation in a voluntary cohort of surgeons. In the survey period from June to August 2015, the questionnaire was given to the patient. The physicians received their assessment results as a compressed score. They were rated on a scale of 1-10 on which 10 is "very good".

RESULTS: 12 physicians were recruited from five departments. There was a high response rate of 46% (n=219). The patients evaluated the communication as very good (on average over all items and physicians 8.5 to 9.5 points). 89% of the patients had the feeling that the doctor took adequate time for them, while 50% of the patients had a consultation time of 11-20 min. 12% of the patients had still open questions after treatment that they did not ask. 19% and 21% of patients reported that the physician has not asked them if they had any questions, or that they just forgot about it at the end of treatment.

CONCLUSION: The results of the pilot study are associated with a good response rate and patients were mostly very satisfied with the physician-patient communication. However, a selection bias among participating physicians is likely.