Barriers to effective communication between family physicians and patients in Georgia

Background. Effective doctor–patient communication is one of the most significant parts of medicine since it has a huge influence on the outcome of treatment, patient satisfaction and quality of health care.
Objectives. The purpose of the research was to identify the main barriers to effective communication between patients and family physicians.
Material and methods. Quantitative, cross-sectional studies were conducted. 230 patients and 36 family physicians participated in the study.
Results. The study showed that the main barriers to doctor–patient communication were limited time during consultation (35.2%), the extensive amount of information being delivered by the family physicians (31%), patients mispresenting their health problems (77.8%), insufficient meeting time (72.2%), inconsistent information being delivered by the patients (47.2%), patients complying with the treat ment strategy (38.9%) and patients having difficulty in understanding the outcomes of the diagnosis (33.3%).
Conclusions. Active communication between family physicians and patients stimulates patients’ motivation and self-confidence, which has a positive impact on their treatment. Patients would like to have doctors who can conduct effective communication, diagnose the disease correctly and treat it successfully. Family physicians must pay attention to patients’ social and personal problems. Particular attention should be paid to effective communication with patients whose involvement in treatment is low. In this regard, it is necessary to undertake various measures to enhance communication between the family physician and the patient.