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PP 251 Perceptions of E-Mail Consultations in Denmark
A. Grønning1
1 University of Southern Denmark, Department for the Study of Culture, Odense M, Denmark
Perceptions of e-mail consultations in Denmark Successful interpersonal communication between patients and their own general practitioner (GP) is es‑
sential for the relation between these and for medical decisions. In 2009, it became mandatory under Danish law for all GPs to offer e-mail consultations
(Doctor’s Agreement) to support efficiency and quality through digitising of health care. E-mail consultation is part of a broader tendency towards citizen
communication and active patient participation related to health-based strategies. In 2013, the number of e-mail consultations in Denmark had risen
from 11,000 in 2003 to 4 million, corresponding to 11.2% of all GP consultations (PLO, 2014). E-mailing and searching for health care information are two
of the three most frequent online activities, this means that patients are increasingly seeking both support and medical information online (Timimi, 2012;
Topol 2015). This trend raises new important questions. The overall research question here is: How does e-mail consultation (and the way it is perceived)
influence the patient role, the doctor role and their asymmetric mutual relation? The first part of the project is carried out as a perception analysis (Trevino
et al., 2000) with the aid of semi-structured qualitative interviews (Kvale, 2006). The aim is to get to the core of how the e-mail consultation is perceived by
the patient and the GP as well as how both parties perceive its importance for their mutual relationship. Forty interviews (each 45 minutes) are to be con‑
ducted with 30 patients and 10 GPs in two practices (notified consent). The important questions are: 1) How do the patients perceive the digital consulta‑
tion?, 2) How do the doctors perceive the digital consultation?, 3) How does the digital consultation affect the mutual relation between doctor and patient?
The concept of relation refers to the interpersonal connection between doctor and patient, a professional relation different from other professional relations
because the patients often feel vulnerable towards the doctor (Frederiksen, 2009:40). This paper presents the results of the first interviews with patients,
including a discussion of e-mail communication as interpersonal communication between patient and doctor. References Doctors' Agreement [Lægernes
overenskomst om almen praksis, Praktiserende Lægers Organisation]. June 1991, latest revision 2010. Frederiksen, H. B. (2009). Patientperspektivet på
læge-patientrelationen i almen praksis med særligt fokus på interpersonel kontinuitet. (Phd thesis), University of Southern Denmark. Kvale, S. (2006). Dom‑
inance Through Interviews and Dialogues. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(3), 480–500. doi:10.1177/1077800406286235 PLO (2014). Aktivitet og økonomi i almen
praksis i dagtid og vagttid 2003 til 2013. Retrieved PORTAL.wwpob_page.show?_docname=10539072.PDF
September 15, 2015. Timimi, F. K. (2012). Medicine, moraliry and health care social media. BMC Medicine, 10(83). Topol, E. (2015). The patient will see you
now: The future of medicine is in your hands. New York: Basic Books. Trevino, L. K., Webster, J., & Stein, E. W. (2000). Making Connections: Complementary
on Communication Media Choices, Attitudes, and Use. Organization Science, 11(2), 163–182.
PP 252 The Critical Relational Characteristics of Health Care Professional-Patient Encounters in the Context of Type 2 Diabetes Care
M. Peltola1, P. Isotalus1, P. Åstedt-Kurki2
1 University of Tampere, School of Communication- Media and Theatre, Tampere, Finland
2 University of Tampere, School of Health Sciences and Pirkanmaa Hospital District, Tampere, Finland
There is a growing recognition that the overall well-being of patients is affected by the relational communication between health care providers (HCPs) and
patients in addition to the medical processes of care. The significance of relational communication has also been identified in the care of chronic illnesses
where the need for care is usually life long and where patients’self-care is generally cooperative in nature. Diabetes, in particular, has been noted to require
sensitive HCP–patient communication to achieve optimal self-care discussions and treatment outcomes because the illness is often connected to a patient’s
unhealthy ways of life. Relational communication characteristics, such as non-judgmental acceptance and honest communication, have been found to
facilitate self-care discussions. On the other hand, HCPs’ minimal emotional support and the emphasized status difference, for example, have been found
to be connected to the neglect of self-care. In earlier diabetes-related studies, relational communication characteristics have received limited attention.
The HCP–patient encounters to be examined have been chosen mainly by the researchers, or studies have concentrated on the patient's general opinions
on the important features of HCP–patient communication. Even less studied are encounter experiences chosen retrospectively by the patients based on
what they regarded as positively or negatively significant from the point of view of their self-care. This kind of approach is justified because earlier studies
have noted that diabetic patients have difficulties in describing their expectations of the features truly important for self-care, for example, to meet patient
satisfaction. The aim of this paper is to introduce results of the first partial study of the first lecturers´ doctoral dissertation. The dissertation focuses on
the interaction experiences between HCPs and patients in the self-care process of type 2 diabetes. In this first partial study, the issue addressed was the fol‑
lowing: What are the critical relational characteristics of doctor and nurse encounters that patients with type 2 diabetes have been found to be positively or
negatively related to their self-care. The study was carried out in Finland with qualitative methods by using open E-survey and semi-structured interviews
in which the critical incident technique was adapted. The technique was used as a form of research where patients provided, from memory, descriptions
of HCP–patient encounters that facilitated or impeded their self-care. Overall, seventy-nine descriptions were analysed by means of inductive qualitative
content analysis. Before data collection, ethical approval was obtained by the regional ethics committee. The currently unpublished results will be useful
for HCPs who are paying attention to patients' relational communication needs, which have proven to be fairly challenging in healthcare practices and its
development projects. Most attention is still paid to solving patients’problems and managing patients’symptoms instead of building a mutual relation. In
addition, the results can be used in training patients’reflective skills by considering their own relational communication needs and behaviors. Finally, results
could open new insights in adapting relational communication theory in the context of health communication.