Does questionnaire-based patient feedback reflect the important qualities of clinical consultations? Context, benefits and risks.

Objective: To explore perceptions of clinical consultations and how they relate to questionnaire-based patient feedback.

Methods: Telephone interviews with 35 junior doctors and 40 general practice patients who had used the Doctors' Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ).

Results: Doctors and patients had similar views of 'good consultations' as relying on doctors' listening and explaining skills.