Some years ago I developed a system that I found to be a most useful consultation tool: ‘Immediate Post Consultation Reflection’ (IPCR). To the best of my knowledge this was my invention. At the end of each consultation spend a few seconds and ask yourself: Have I covered all the topics raised during the consultation? Have I applied my learning points? Have any intuitive ideas emerged and evaporated from my non-dominant hemisphere during the consultation? I found that by employing this technique, fleeting (but often important ideas) came flooding back to me while the patient was still in the consulting room. IPCR will be perceived by the patient as a natural silence, or for what it is, a period of contemplative reflection. It is not the same as ‘summing up’, which is a recap of the important points covered in the doctor/patient dialogue. It takes only a few seconds and is time well spent. I retired from general practice some 3 years ago. Would anyone out there be interested in evaluating the efficacy of this potentially valuable consultation tool?
letter . 2014 Oct 27;64(628):563–564. doi: 10.3399/bjgp14X682249