Making the most of your medical interviews

Programs that train physicians in the art of the medical interview are getting increasing attention. As physicians fit more and more patients into their schedules, they need the skills to quickly determine their patients' most pressing medical concerns.

While there are a number of models to teach physician ewing skills, one program, known as the "Four Habits" model, has been used for 16 years. Developed by Kaiser Permanente, the model provides physicians with interview techniques that can help them identify all of their patient's medical conditions and determine the importance of each condition from the patient's point of view. In workshops conducted by the health plan, physicians learn how to: