3rd. PARTIES HELPFUL DURING DOCTOR VISITS

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Many individuals find it helpful to take a family member or friend along when they visit the doctor.

Thanks for the article it is very true about having a companion with you, I just wish I did.

Barbara (UK)

[Guest guest]

Third Parties Helpful During Doctor-patient VisitsFriday, August 16, 2002

NEW YORK Many individuals find it helpful to take a family member or friend along when they visit the doctor. And in the long run, both patient and doctor appear to benefit from the presence of a third party, researchers report.

"Companions that patients choose to bring to their medical visits are generally very helpful and improve the communication and understanding that occurs between the patient and the physician," said lead study author Dr. M. Schilling of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.

Schilling and her team analyzed nearly 1,300 patient visits to determine the frequency, role and influence of companions during outpatient visits.

Overall, patients were accompanied by a companion in nearly 3 out of every 10 visits, and in 16% of the cases, the companion also followed the patient into the examination room, the researchers report in the August issue of The Journal of Family Practice. In most cases (93%), the companion was a family member.

Reasons given for the accompaniment included helping patients with transportation, giving them emotional support and keeping them company, the report indicates.

In the examination room, companions helped facilitate better doctor-patient communication, helped the patient to remember the physician's advice and instructions, helped the patient make decisions and expressed their own concerns to the physician.

In fact, according to patients, their companions favorably influenced three out of four of their medical visits, particularly by helping them better communicate with their doctor, the authors note.

Doctors also agreed that their patients' companions were an asset during the medical visits, the researchers report. Six out of every 10 physicians said that the patients' companions helped them better understand their patients, and 46% said the companions helped increase the patient's own understanding.

Altogether, waiting room companions were "very helpful" for nearly three out of four visits to the doctor, according to patient reports. And examination room companions were even more helpful, study findings indicate.

In light of the findings, "people might want to consider bringing a companion to their doctor's visit," Schilling said.

"A lot of information is exchanged during one's visit with a doctor and having a trusted friend or family member present may help you and your physician," the researcher added.

SOURCE: The Journal of Family Practice 2002;51:685-690.