ArticleBMC family practice2006
Why do patients want to have their blood tested? A qualitative study of patient expectations in general practice.
Article in BMC family practice, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Strategies to reduce the use of low-value medical tests in primary care: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020Pooled it
- The effectiveness of interventions to improve laboratory requesting patterns among primary care physicians: a systematic review.Implementation science : IS · 2015Pooled it
- The effect of a test ordering software intervention on the prescription of unnecessary laboratory tests - a randomized controlled trial.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2017Trial
- Influence of watchful waiting on satisfaction and anxiety among patients seeking care for unexplained complaints.Annals of family medicineTrial
- Identifying opportunities for shared decision-making through patients' and physicians' perceptions on the diagnostic process: A qualitative analysis of malpractice claims in general practice.The European journal of general practice · 2025Observational
- Parent and Clinician Perspectives on Diagnostic Testing for Children With Diarrhea: A Qualitative Study.JAMA network open · 2025Article
- Patients' Views and Expectations of Consultations in Primary Care in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Blood test use in Korean Medicine for monitoring herbal medicine safety.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Cognitive factors impacting patient understanding of laboratory test information.Journal of pathology informatics · 2024Review
- Impact of encounters on patient app use: results of a tethered mobile personal health record usage pattern analysis.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Anthelmintic efficacy evaluation and mechanism of N-methylbenzo[d]oxazol-2-amine.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Factors affecting patient decisions to undergo testing for cancer symptoms: an exploratory qualitative study in Australian general practice.BJGP open · 2023Article
- 'Primary health care research & development · 2023Article
- Blood tests in primary care: A qualitative study of communication and decision-making between doctors and patients.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Article
- Prevalence, Reasons and Determinants of Patients' Nondisclosure to Their Doctors in Saudi Arabia: A Community-Based Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2022Article
- Patients' experiences of the use of point-of-care ultrasound in general practice - a cross-sectional study.BMC family practice · 2021Observational
- Clinical implications of aminotransferase elevation in hospitalised infants aged 8-90 days with respiratory virus detection.Influenza and other respiratory viruses · 2020Observational
- Shared decision making about blood tests: secondary analysis of video-recorded primary care consultations.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020Article
- Perspective of healthy asymptomatic patients requesting general blood tests from their physicians: a qualitative study.BMC family practice · 2019Article
- Association of Clinician Denial of Patient Requests With Patient Satisfaction.JAMA internal medicine · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGeneral practitioners often take their impression of patients' expectations into account in their decision to have blood tests done. It is commonly recommended to involve patients in decision-making during consultations. The study aimed to obtain detailed information on patients' expectations about blood tests.
methodsQualitative study among patients in waiting rooms of general practices. Each patient was presented with a short questionnaire about their preferences in terms of diagnostics. Patients who would like blood tests to be done were interviewed.
resultsFifty-seven (26%) of the 224 respondents wanted blood tests. Twenty-two were interviewed. Patients overestimated the qualities of blood tests. Favourable test results were regarded as proof of good health. Patients regarded blood tests as a useful instrument to screen for serious disorders, and were confirmed in this belief by people in their social environment and by the media. Many patients expected their GP to take an active test ordering approach, though some indicated that they might be convinced if their GP proposed a wait-and-see policy.
conclusionsGPs' perceptions about patient expectations seem justified: patients appear to have high hopes for testing as a diagnostic tool. They expect diagnostic certainty without mistakes and a proof of good health. The question is whether it would be desirable to remove patients' misconceptions, allowing them to participate in policy decisions on the basis of sound information, or whether it would be better to leave the misconceptions uncontested, in order to retain the 'magic' of additional tests and reassure patients. We expect that clarifying the precise nature of patients' expectations by the GP may be helpful in creating a diagnostic strategy that satisfies both patients and GPs. GPs will have to balance the benefits of reassuring their patients by means of blood tests which may be unnecessary against the benefits of avoiding unnecessary tests. Further research is needed into the effects of different types of patient information and the effects of testing on satisfaction and anxiety.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.