ABSTRACT
The essential unit of medical practice is the occasion when, in the intimacy of the consulting room or sick room, a person who is ill, or believes himself to be ill, seeks the advice of a doctor whom he trusts. In the education of general practitioners (GP) today, great emphasis is rightly placed on the study of the consultation with the aim of teaching young doctors to listen attentively to their patients and to take an interest in them as people. Complaints against doctors are much more likely to occur if patients feel that the doctor was indifferent to their feelings. Treatment options can be shared so that doctor and patient are more like partners. All these skills are of great value in producing better consultations and improving doctor–patient relationships. Increased accountability and the drive for evidence-based medicine have been features of primary care in recent years, particularly since the time of the 1990 contract for GPs.
