Communication about medication management during patient–physician consultations in primary care: a participant observation study

OBJECTIVE: To explore communication about medication management during annual consultations in primary care. Design: passive participant observations of primary care consultations. SETTING: Two primary care centres in southern Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Consultations between 18 patients (over the age of 60 years) with chronic diseases and 10 general practitioners (GPs) were observed, audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using content analysis. RESULTS: Four categories emerged: communication barriers, striving for a shared understanding of medication management, evaluation of the current medication treatment and the plan ahead and behavioural changes in relation to medication management. Misunderstandings in communication, failure to report changes in the medication treatment and use of generic substitutes complicated mutual understanding and agreement on continued treatment. The need for behavioural changes to reduce the need for medication treatment was recognised but should be explored further. CONCLUSION: Several pitfalls, including miscommunication and inaccurate medication lists, for safe medication management were identified. The purpose of annual consultations should be clarified, individual treatment plans could be used more actively during primary care consultations and efforts are needed to improve verbal communication and information continuity.