Objectives: To determine the importance of various areas of physician competency and to assess the public's ratings of their own physicians.
Design: A nationwide household telephone survey.
Participants: A random sample of 640 US adults (61% response rate).
Main outcome measures: Ratings of importance and physicians' competencies in diagnosing and treating illness, communication, ethical conduct, cooperation with other health care professionals, promotion of preventive care, use of technology, and consideration of the cost of care to the patient.
Results: Physicians were rated lowest on communication skills and on attention to the costs of the recommended treatment. A comparison of the results with a similar survey of physicians shows that physicians rate their training the lowest in these same areas. Physicians in general practice were rated lower on several competencies than were other physicians.
Conclusions: Health care consumers and physicians share similar values about what is important in the role of a physician. In the areas of communication and attention to the costs of treatment, public needs are not always being met.