RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The doctor/patient relationship and its effect upon outcome JF The Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners JO J R Coll Gen Pract FD British Journal of General Practice SP 77 OP 82 VO 29 IS 199 A1 Moira A. Stewart A1 Ian R. McWhinney A1 Carol W. Buck YR 1979 UL http://bjgp.org/content/29/199/77.abstract AB The study of 299 chronically ill patients examined the doctor/patient relationship by asking two questions: first, what factors affect the quality of the relationship and secondly, does the doctor/patient relationship affect outcome for the patient? The doctor/patient relationship was measured by indicators of the doctor's awareness of the patient's problems. The following factors were found to be positively associated with the doctor's awareness: a small number of patient problems, a large number of recent visits, and the patient, rather than the doctor, initiating the consultation. The patient's age and education, the completeness of family care, and duration of care were not found to influence awareness. After eliminating the effect of confounding variables, the relationship between the doctor's awareness and the patient's recovery was maintained for some groups of patients. Awareness did not significantly affect the patient's satisfaction. We list some practical recommendations to aid doctors in increasing their knowledge of their patients.