Tacit knowledge in medical consultations for patients with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities: An exploratory qualitative study.

Background: Patients with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) cannot clearly express themselves. Therefore, tacit knowledge (TK) is crucial in caring for individuals with PIMD, while it possibly also plays a significant role in medical consultations.

Method: A qualitative inductive, thematic analysis was performed of 14 audio-taped consultations with intellectual disability physicians for patients with PIMD to explore how TK is represented and considered between parents and physicians.