They were asked to invite the first patient scheduled for consultation that fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria during a one-month period.
Participants were eligible for the study if they a) had their first visit at the recruiting clinic and were diagnosed during the recruitment period, b) had IBS symptoms as their primary reason for consultation, c) fulfilled Rome III-criteria for IBS [ 1], d) were between 18 and 65 years old, e) had no presence of current or previous inflammatory bowel disease, and f) lived in Stockholm County.
Some important aspects for a positive consultation environment were fulfilled in only about half of the doctors' consultations: ensuring privacy of consultation (49%), eye contact (49%), good attention (52%), encouraging asking questions (47%), and emphasizing on the patients' understanding of the provided information (52%).
The consultation process also fulfilled requirements of the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Indigenous Advisory Committee of the Menzies School of Health Research.
But key terms of the agreement were never fulfilled, among them "popular consultations" that were to give the people of South Kordofan a voice in how they were governed.
Other findings were that some important aspects for a positive consultation environment, like ensuring privacy during consultation, eye contact, good attention, encouraging the asking of questions, and emphasizing the patients' understanding of the provided information, were fulfilled in only about half of the doctors' consultations and even less often in the nurses' consultations.
Eighty-five percent of the people who consulted a public authority because of their symptoms were unsatisfied with the response, whereas consultation of self-help groups or building ecologists usually fulfilled expectations.
Our experience shows that only six of ten consultations filed for CE fulfill the eligibility criteria for the procedure.
Consultations were assessed as optimal if more than 75% of observed aspects were fulfilled and sub-optimal if less than 50% were fulfilled.
Patients were approached by their nephrologist if they fulfilled the inclusion criteria, had had at least one specialist renal consultation following referral, and if the nephrologist considered them in good enough physical and mental health to take part.
