Open-Ended Questions: Are They Really Beneficial for Gathering Medical Information from Patients?

Abstract

(2), 151-154 Open-ended questions, which allow patients to discuss their concerns freely, are widely considered an efficient method gathering medical information from patients during a medical interview. However, few studies have examined the relationship between the use of open-ended questions and the amount of information obtained from patients during the medical interview. This study examines this relationship using a relatively large sample size under more standardized conditions than in previous studies. The Japanese Group for Research on the Medical Interview undertook this research in [2002][2003]. A total of 1,527 medical students conducted medical interviews with standardized patients, and 1,220 met the inclusion criteria for this study. The interview was limited to five minutes. Evaluators (medical school faculty physicians) evaluated the use of open-ended questions during the medical interview. The reliability of the evaluation sheet was also examined. The amount of information obtained was measured through the medical interview evaluation sheet.The use of open-ended questions was positively related to the amount of information elicited from the patients (F = 41.0, p < 0.0001). This study provides data to support the hypothesis regarding the favorable relationship between the use of the open-ended questions and the amount of information from the patients.

Identifying nurse managers' essential communication skills: an analysis of nurses' perceptions in Oman

“…Takemura et al . () found nondirective questions elicited significantly more patient information. Likewise, 80.7% of health care management teams in Riiskjær et al .…”

“…Takemura et al . () similarly argued that nondirective questions allow respondents to discuss concerns freely.…”

“…Reja et al (2003) suggested, 'Close-ended questions limit the respondent to the set of alternatives being offered, while openended questions allow the respondent to express an opinion without being influenced by the researcher' (p. 161). Takemura et al (2005) similarly argued that nondirective questions allow respondents to discuss concerns freely.…”

Identifying Medical Interview Behaviors that Best Elicit Information from Patients in Clinical Practice

“…Indeed, one of the authors (Y. T.) also previously found a positive relationship between the use of open-ended questions and the amount of information obtained dur- ing 5-min medical interviews in the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE), using standardized patients (Takemura et al 2004). One explanation might be that patients in a real practice setting do not mention all of their complaints in reply to a physician's open-ended question, but tell only what they want to tell.…”

“…Several reports have shown that the medical history obtained during the medical interview provides 60-80% of the information needed for an accurate diagnosis (Hampton et al 1975;Sandler 1980;Kassirer 1983;Peterson 1992). Numerous medical interview behaviors can be used to gather medical information from patients, including open-ended questions (Rutter and Cox 1981;Cox et al 1981a, b;Beckman and Frankel 1984;Roter and Hall 1987;Maguire et al 1996;Marvel et al 1999;Takemura et al 2004), facilitation (Rogers 1980;Egan 1990;Wissow 1994), the open-to-closed cone (Cox et al 1981a; Bird and Cohen-Cole adjustment was made in this study to eliminate its effects.…”