The shared consultation: a necessity in primary care clinics?

Abstract

The shared consultation is a concept that differs from shared decision making and shared care. It involves two or more health professionals in the consultation of a patient during the same illness episode. Commonly, the health professionals are a primary-care doctor and a clinical nurse practitioner. On the basis of clinical experience, a number of models of the relationship in such situations are described, viz the consultant, the master-servant, the teacher-pupil and the teamwork models. Issues of communication within the consultation, the patient as a person, continuity of care, and clarification of roles and responsibilities are highlighted. More investigation is required to explore this further.