Patient coaching in specialist consultations. Which patients are interested in a coach and what communication barriers do they perceive?

Objective: To characterize patients interested in support by a patient coach to guide them in medical specialist consultations.

Methods: We compared 76 patients interested in a patient coach with 381 patients without such an interest, using a representative panel of patients with a chronic disease in the Netherlands. Independent variables were demographic factors, socio-economic status, perceived efficacy in patient-provider interaction, communication barriers, health literacy, (duration and type of) disease(s) and activation level.

Does patient coaching make a difference in patient-physician communication during specialist consultations? A systematic review.

Objective: To systematically review the literature on the effectiveness of a patient coach intervention on patient - physician communication in specialists consultations.

Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, PsycInfo, Cinahl and Embase were searched until November 2015. Included were papers describing interventions directed at adult outpatients in secondary care with a variety of somatic diseases.