Ideas, Concerns, Expectations. Implementing Patient-centered Communication (ICE)

ICE - Ideas, Concerns, Expectations. Implementing Patient-centered Communication to Prevent Unnecessary Medicine

Exploring patients' ideas, concerns and expectation (ICE) is a communication tool to promote patient centredness and shared decision making during a consultation. This study evaluates whether offering ICE training to doctors can decrease overdiagnosis in the management of acute backache.

The study is a cluster randomized trial recruiting general practitioner from practices in Northern Bavaria/Germany forming a research network within the recently implemented framework of PRO PRICARE (Preventing Overdiagnosis in Primary Care). At baseline, the intervention group (24 out of 48 doctors) will take part in a one-day training session covering theoretical background and clinical implementation of ICE communication in association with frequent consultation contents. Primary outcome measure are referrals to physiotherapists and medical specialists such as orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists and radiologists, obtained from routinely collected practice data. Secondary outcomes are patients' and doctors' satisfaction measured via structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Blinding is attempted by hiding the trial purpose and treatment allocation from the participating doctors.

patient-centered-communication, Primary Care, over investigation, communication, consultation, shared-decision making, medical education, low back pain

Cluster randomised parallel design: Randomization to ICE communication training will take place at the practice level with units of randomizations being single handed or group practices.

All participating doctors will be blinded towards the explicit purpose and design of the study. ICE communication training will be offered to all participants: to the doctors in the intervention group as a true intervention at the beginning of the trial, and to the doctors in the control group as a pretend intervention at the end of the trial.

The Intervention Group is allocated to a Workshop of communication training before data collection covering theoretical background and clinical implementation of ICE communication in association with frequent consultation contents.

referrals of patients to physiotherapists and medical specialists such as radiologists, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons

Inclusion Criteria: aged 18 first time seeing doctor because of the defined high frequent consultation issue referring on recommendation of the National Guideline Exclusion Criteria: not first time seeing the doctor during the recommended time of the National Guideline

Schedlbauer A, Burggraf L, Hueber S, Terzakis-Snyder IA, Kuhlein T, Roos M. Referrals for uncomplicated lower back pain: a cluster parallel randomised trial of patient-centred communication to improve the management of acute back pain in primary care. A study protocol. BMJ Open. 2019 Oct 28;9(10):e027718. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-027718.