A Scoping Review: Communication Between Emergency Physicians and Patients in the Emergency Department.
BACKGROUND
Understanding the basic qualities of communication between emergency physicians and patients could improve communication in the emergency department.


OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this scoping review are to map the literature about the gaps in communication between emergency physicians and patients in the emergency department and make recommendations for further research.


METHODS
A scoping review of literature published since 1980 and written in English was undertaken using the following databases: Pubmed, Scopus, and SocINDEX. The articles were searched for using two-keyword combinations of the following keywords joined by "AND": "communication," "patient," "emergency physician," "emergency department/emergency room/accident," and "emergency room." Seventeen articles were included in the final review.


RESULTS
Five research issues were covered by the 17 papers: patient-centered communication, information sharing, bad news delivery, shared decision making, and physicians' perspectives on communication. Emergency physicians have several communication characteristics: doctor-driven decision making, focusing on efficient information gathering, immature communication techniques, and obstacles to overcoming miscommunication. Patients also have several communication characteristics: active participation in medical encounters, expectation of physician as a reliable guide, understanding physicians' difficulties, and factors that contribute to understanding.


CONCLUSIONS
Several conclusions about emergency department communication between patients and emergency physicians were drawn. Additional research is required to consider diverse patient needs in the emergency department. Furthermore, training programs for emergency physicians to improve the quality of communication should be developed and implemented in line with our research findings.
['Roh|HyeRin|H|', 'Park|Kyung Hye|KH|']
D003142:Communication D003657:Decision Making D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital D005239:Fear D006801:Humans D017060:Patient Satisfaction D010817:Physician-Patient Relations
communication emergency physician emergency department