Table 3.

Effects of the Patient’s Talking about a DTCA on the Doctor-Patient Relationship

	n	% Improved	% Neutral	% Worsened	p	Multivariate Odds Ratio for Improved Relationship (95% CI)^*
Total	395	33	60	8
How relevant to the patient was the information in the ad?					<0.001
Very/somewhat	309	37	58	5
Not very/not at all	82	16	66	19
How accurate was the information in the ad?					<0.001
Very/somewhat	262	38	59	3
Not very/not at all	131	22	62	16
Why did the patient talk to you about the ad?					0.002
Wanted a test, medication change or referral	221	28	61	11
Wanted your opinion only	173	38	59	3
Did you do what the patient wanted?^†					<0.001
Yes, completely	75	44	55	1		5.7 (2.2–14.7)
Yes, partially	244	35	57	7		3.7 (1.6–8.6)
No	75	12	74	15		1.0
Did you have enough time to discuss the information?					0.031
Yes	258	36	59	5		2.0 (1.2–3.3)
No	136	27	62	12		1.0
Did you feel the patient was taking responsibility?					<0.001
Yes	279	38	56	6		2.4 (1.4–4.4)
No	114	19	69	12		1.0
Did you feel the patient was challenging your authority?					<0.001
Yes	49	28	39	33
No	343	33	63	4
Did you think that the patient’s request was not appropriate for their health?					<0.001
Yes, not appropriate	143	25	56	19
No, appropriate	253	37	62	1
Did you feel you did not know the patient well enough to have good communication?					<0.001
Yes	27	37	32	30
No	365	32	62	6

* For clarity, only significant odds ratios are shown. CI, confidence interval.
† Comparison of doing what the patient wanted completely versus partially revealed no significant difference in odds ratios.