TY - JOUR T1 - Test Talk: an observational study exploring the discussion of blood tests in routine primary care consultations JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract DO - 10.3399/bjgp19X703625 VL - 69 IS - suppl 1 SP - bjgp19X703625 AU - Jessica Martin AU - Jessica Watson AU - Rebecca Barnes Y1 - 2019/06/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/69/suppl_1/bjgp19X703625.abstract N2 - Background Clinicians are encouraged to share decisions about treatment options with their patients, however to-date there has been little research attention focusing on the discussion of investigations.Aim This study explored shared decision making (SDM) regarding blood testing during routine primary care consultations.Method This observational study used inductive and deductive qualitative content analysis to examine 50 consultations. Data were sampled from the One in a Million archive, which contains video-recordings of 300 primary care consultations and linked data between GPs and adult patients with permissions for reuse. The discussion surrounding both ordering blood tests and conveying results was coded, including who instigated testing, whether there was SDM, and how results were explained to patients.Results During 36/50 consultations in which ordering blood tests was discussed, 31% of patients hinted they wanted a blood test, however none explicitly asked: 32% of patients were informed about all blood tests ordered. Only 11% were offered any alternative options. In 81% of cases the GP gave some explanation of why the test was indicated, but only 17% explained any limitations of testing. Of 23/50 consultations in which results were conveyed, the GP gave no explanation of the results in 26% of cases: 57% of patients were only informed of an ‘assessment’ of the result, not the actual result.Conclusion This study identifies numerous areas for improvement in terms of patient information and SDM surrounding blood testing. Promoting SDM has been hypothesised to reduce rates of unnecessary testing and could potentially improve patient-centred care and efficiency. ER -