Role of Communication Skills Training
Authors: C. Andrew Brodkin, Kayla I. Brodkin
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2000)

Letters16 May 2000Role of Communication Skills TrainingC. Andrew Brodkin, MD, MPH and Kayla I. Brodkin, MDC. Andrew Brodkin, MD, MPHUniversity of Washington; Seattle, WA 98104 (Brodkin)Puget Sound Veterans Administration Hospital; Seattle, WA 98104 (Brodkin)Search for more papers by this author and Kayla I. Brodkin, MDUniversity of Washington; Seattle, WA 98104 (Brodkin)Puget Sound Veterans Administration Hospital; Seattle, WA 98104 (Brodkin)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-132-10-200005160-00026 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Although Brown and colleagues' findings [1] raise questions about the efficacy of clinician communication skills training in improving patient satisfaction, the authors' definitive statement that such training “is not effective in improving general patient satisfaction” appears overstated given the inability to adjust for essential environmental factors in the analysis. The substantial increase in health maintenance organization enrollment observed during the study period introduces two important independent variables that could adversely affect patient satisfaction: 1) higher practice volume and 2) diminished depth of physician–patient relationships.Increased practice volume is associated with lower patient satisfaction, independent of time spent ...References1. Brown JB, Boles M, Mullooly JP, Levinson W. Effect of clinician communication skills training on patient satisfaction. A randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 1999;131:822-9. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Zyzanski SJ, Stange KC, Langa D, Flocke SA. Trade-offs in high-volume primary care practice. J Fam Pract. 1998;46:397-402. MedlineGoogle Scholar3. Poulton BC. Use of the consultation satisfaction questionnaire to examine patients' satisfaction with general practitioners and community nurses: reliability, replicability and discriminant validity. Br J Gen Pract. 1996;46:26-31. MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Hammerstrom J. Patients' experiences with a hospital outpatient clinic. Is lack of continuity in the physician–patient relationship an important quality problem? Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1993;113:1600-2. MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: C. Andrew Brodkin, MD, MPH; Kayla I. Brodkin, MDAffiliations: University of Washington; Seattle, WA 98104 (Brodkin)Puget Sound Veterans Administration Hospital; Seattle, WA 98104 (Brodkin) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoEffect of Clinician Communication Skills Training on Patient Satisfaction Jonathan Betz Brown , Myde Boles , John P. Mullooly , and Wendy Levinson Metrics Cited byA New Theory of Racism that Implies a Fair, No-Fault, Solution Using Game Theory, Psycholinguistics and Mathematical Network Theory 16 May 2000Volume 132, Issue 10Page: 844KeywordsFactor analysisHealth maintenance organizationsOutpatients ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 16 May 2000 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2000 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...