Data from: Difficult patient-doctor encounters in a Swiss university outpatient clinic: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Previous research has shown that multiple factors contribute to healthcare providers perceiving encounters as difficult, and are related to both medical and non-medical demands. Aim: To measure the prevalence and to identify predictors of encounters perceived as difficult by medical residents. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional study at the Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine (DACCM), a university outpatient clinic with a long tradition of caring for vulnerable patients. Method: We identified difficult doctor-patient encounters using the validated Difficult Doctor-Patient Relationship Questionnaire (DDPRQ-10), and characterized patients using the Patient’s Vulnerability Grid, a validated questionnaire measuring 5 domains of vulnerability, both completed by medical residents after each encounter. We used a multiple linear regression model with the outcome variable as the DDPRQ-10 score, controlling for resident characteristics. Participants: We analyzed 527 patient encounters performed by all 27 DACCM residents (17 women and 10 men). We asked each medical resident to evaluate 20 consecutive consultations starting on the same date. Outcome: One hundred and fifty-seven encounters (29,8%) were perceived as difficult. Results: After adjusting for differences among residents, all five domains of the Patient Vulnerability Grid were independently associated with a difficult encounter: frequent health care user; psychological comorbidity; health comorbidity; risky behaviors and a precarious social situation. Conclusion: Nearly a third of encounters were perceived as difficult by medical residents in our university outpatient clinic that cares for a high proportion of vulnerable patients. This represents twice the average ratio of difficult encounters in general practice. All five domains of patient vulnerability appear to have partial explanatory power on medical residents’ perception of difficult patient encounters

Commentaire romand de la Loi fédérale sur la protection des données

Dans la lignée des commentaires article par article de tradition germanique, mais dans une perspective spécifique à la Suisse francophone, la collection des Commentaires romands propose des ouvrages de référence à l’usage de la pratique, de la magistrature et de la recherche. Trente ans après son entrée en vigueur, la Loi fédérale sur la protection des données (LPD) a fait l’objet d’une révision totale pour la mettre en conformité avec le droit international et garantir aux personnes faisant l’objet d’un traitement de données en Suisse une protection équivalente à celle qui prévaut dans les pays voisins. Ce commentaire article par article de la nouvelle LPD, entrée en vigueur le 1er septembre 2023, tient compte des derniers développements jurisprudentiels et doctrinaux, y compris les nombreuses recommandations des autorités de surveillance européennes lorsque cela est pertinent. Fidèle à l’esprit de la collection, il offre à son lecteur, praticien comme chercheur, des réponses claires et précises