Communication skills training – a means to promote time-efficient patient-centered communication in practice

Purpose: We hypothesized that health care providers would behave in a more patient-centered manner after the implementation of communication skills training, without causing the consultation to last longer. Methods: This study was part of the large-scale implementation of a communication skills training program called "Clear-Cut Communication With Patients" at Lillebaelt Hospital in Denmark. Audio recordings from real-life consultations were collected in a pre-post design, with health care providers' participation in communication skills training as the intervention. The training was based on the Calgary-Cambridge Guide, and audio recordings were rated using the Observation Scheme-12. Results: Health care providers improved their communication behavior in favor of being more patient-centered. Results were tested using a mixed-effect model and showed significant differences between pre- and postintervention assessments, with a coefficient of 1.3 (95% Cl: 0.35–2.3; P=0.01) for the overall score. The consultations did not last longer after the training. Conclusions: Health care providers improved their communication in patient consultations after the implementation of a large-scale patient-centered communication skills training program based on the Calgary-Cambridge Guide. This did not affect the length of the consultations