Table 2.

Interview guide for the focus group interviews

Main themes	Probing questions
Understandings of DM	What do you at first understand by the concept ‘Defensive medicine’ when you hear it?
Exchange of experiences	As a way of further approaching the concept, we would ask you to look back on the last couple of weeks in your practice. Can you recall a doctor–patient situation that you would describe as defensive?
Motives	Now that you have listened to each other you might recognise some features and situations from your own practice. If you again recall the specific situation, which you have described, what do you think was the reason(s) for acting as you did?
Perceptions	Can you try to describe how you perceived these situations? What kind of feelings did they initiate (if any)? To what extent do these types of situations fill your mind? How often do these types of consultations occur in your daily practice? (eg, never, seldom, often?) If you look back in time, do you think you would have acted differently 10 years ago?
Experiences with complaints	Can you try to describe you experiences with receiving complaints? If you have received a complaint, how did it affect you? Has it made you change anything in you clinical behaviour? If no, do you think that it would affect your future clinical behaviour?
Perspective	If we look back on what we have talked about until now, do you have the same understanding of the concept ‘DM’ as when we started out discussing it?

DM, defensive medicine.