Clinicians' knowledge about the families of their patients.

This study was designed to determine what doctors and nurses in family medicine actually know about the families of their patients; to assess the accuracy of the professed knowledge; and to relate this knowledge to the patient's level of satisfaction and compliance. Clinicians completed questionnaires dealing with their knowledge of personal and family information about patients. These patients completed a mirror-image questionnaire--to assess the accuracy of the clinician's responses--and a questionnaire about their satisfaction with the consultation. At a follow-up visit by the patients, clinicians completed questionnaires which assessed patients' compliance. Clinicians thought they knew the patient's occupation in 86% of cases and were correct in 73% of the total. The respective percentages for the spouse's level of education were 49% and 35%. Clinicians and patients agreed on whether there was a marital or a financial problem 66% and 47% of the time respectively. High clinician knowledge scores were not associated with either high satisfaction or good compliance on the patient's side.