Patients’ requests and physicians’ prescribing behavior. A systematic review

IF 2.9 2区医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Patient Education and Counseling Pub Date : 2025-03-16 DOI:10.1016/j.pec.2025.108747

Aline Rinaldi , Anna Bullo , Peter Johannes Schulz

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Patients' requests is a frequently cited factor in the literature affecting doctors’ prescribing decisions. This systematic review aims to consolidate quantitative findings, shedding light on the relationship between patient requests and the actions taken by general practitioners. A broader perspective was adopted by not limiting our investigation to specific medication categories. Instead, we treat the act of requesting as a communicative behavior, separate from the pharmacological context.

Method

A comprehensive search across various online databases was performed. Two authors independently contributed the screening phase. The selection of articles and the data extraction were performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flowchart.

Results

Patient’s request demonstrated to be a driving factor for physician’s prescribing behavior not only when antibiotics are involved, but as a more generalized trend.

Conclusions

The study acknowledges the complexity of patient-provider communication, emphasizing the asymmetry in roles and the tension between patient empowerment and medical expertise. By uncovering the underlying mechanisms shaping doctors' responses to patient requests, this systematic review enhances our understanding of communication in healthcare settings.

Practice implications

Understanding the impact of patient requests on prescribing decisions highlights the importance of training healthcare providers in effective communication strategies that balance patient autonomy with clinical judgment. These insights can inform guidelines and interventions aimed at managing patient expectations, supporting more evidence-based prescribing practices and fostering better doctor-patient relationships.

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来源期刊

Patient Education and Counseling 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

11.40%

发文量

384

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Patient Education and Counseling is an interdisciplinary, international journal for patient education and health promotion researchers, managers and clinicians. The journal seeks to explore and elucidate the educational, counseling and communication models in health care. Its aim is to provide a forum for fundamental as well as applied research, and to promote the study of organizational issues involved with the delivery of patient education, counseling, health promotion services and training models in improving communication between providers and patients.