Printed in Great Britain Improving patient-doctor concordance: an intervention study in general practice

study in general practice. Family Practice 1996; 13: 427-431. Objective. This study aimed to examine if providing feedback to the doctor can improve patient-doctor concordance (PDC) on health problems and treatments. Method. The study was carried out in a hospital-based primary care service in a lower socioeconomic status (SES) region of metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. A summary of the existing patient-doctor concordance on health problems and treatments was presented to doctors along with a questionnaire seeking their perceptions of and suggestions on how to act on the findings. In a pre- and post-intervention study, data were collected from con-secutive new patients who completed a pre- and post-consultation questionnaire seeking information on the presenting complaint patient-reported health problem, doctor-recorded health problem, treatments received, and patient expectations of and satisfaction with care. Diagnostic data were classified into body systems. Descriptive statistics were obtained and PDC measured. Following the intervention, data collection was repeated to detect any changes in PDC and patient satisfaction. Results. The pre-intervention sample (n = 197) was young (mean age 33 years), evenl