How can short GP consultations make a big difference?

How can ‘keeping it brief’ make more effective GP consultations?

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on General Practice Nurse Education Network

Recent research from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) encourages primary care staff to make the most of consultations because t. The big topics in public health – obesity, alcohol, smoking, and mental health – can be raised in even the shortest conversations. 

The research suggests that patients appreciate a discussion on broader health issues, and no topic need be out of bounds. It offers tips on the specific words and phrases to use, in order  to maximise the impact of these conversations. 

Primary care consultations provide an ideal chance to improve the health and wellbeing of the public. 

Our most recent project at NIHR Evidence is a collection of research on how to have effective – and brief – conversations in primary care. This means talking about public health issues such as obesity, alcohol, smoking and mental health; t. They aren’t the easiest subjects for anyone to broach abd b. Busy professionals may be concerned that they will cause offence, or fear, that they are embarking on a lengthy conversation.

But However, the studies show that patients are open to receiving lifestyle advice, and often expect it. The research gives examples of specific phrases and types of question that can help professionals make the most of these encounters; u. Using these phrases increases the numbers of patients who accept help to change lifestyle behaviours – a. And they help keep conversations short. 

Primary care staff can be reassured that:

• no topic need be avoided;
• patients value their advice.

The research shows that the best conversations:

• are personalised – for example, alcohol advice should build on strategies individuals already use to manage drinking;
• include key details at the start – such as that a weight- management programme is local and free of charge; – this keeps conversations brief and increases the chances that a patient will accept a referral;
• use open-ended questions to ask about mental health, and encourage patients to expand when they give hesitant or ambiguous responses.

Opportunistic conversations are encouraged in guidelines, but still do not often happen often. Tackling sensitive subjects can feel challenging when appointments are already short. Staff may be concerned about causing offence, or feel they need more training – b. But this research suggests that primary care appointments are the right place to address these issues. 

Millions of people visit every month, and even the briefest conversations have the potential to improve health and wellbeing. We hope this research encourages primary care staff that no subject need be a no-go zone.

At NIHR Evidence, we publish short, plain language summaries of NIHR-funded research. We want health and social care research to be accessible for everyone – : the public, healthcare professionals, policy makers. We aim to package our research in a friendly, accessible format, and put it into the hands of those who can act on it.