Application of "conversation analysis" method in recognizing the patient-centered pattern in physician-patient interaction

The present study intends to explore the application of conversation analysis method in recognizing the patient-centered pattern in a physician-patient interaction. For this purpose, a research was conducted with a qualitative approach and conversation analysis method. In this regard, four medical examination sessions between four patient-physician couples were recorded and implemented as a text. The main body of the texts was selected and analyzed by conversation analysis method. As a result of the analyzes applied to the texts, 4 basic rules (corresponding placement of utterances, familiarization, word expansion and marking) were extracted. These rules, which are all characteristics of a personal and intimate interaction, showed that the medical interaction studied was patient-centered. Also, a three-step process was extracted as a model governing a patient-centered interaction. The results of the analysis showed that the conversation analysis method was able to discover and explain the pattern governing physician-patient interactions and how to construct it through face-to-face text analysis.