Communication skills and the utilisation of primary care consultations

Abstract

The hyper-utilisation of primary care consultations is a concern of the first order for family doctors and the managers of the services. Improvement in communication skills by the primary care professionals is related to better results in physical, mental, functional and subjective health; it increases the satisfaction of professionals and users, adherence to treatments, and clinical efficiency (lower number of complementary tests and derivations) and could also reduce the hyper-utilisation of primary care consultations. New studies are needed that more clearly define the relationship between communication skills and the use of primary care consultations.