Multi-party talk in the medical encounter: Socio-pragmatic functions of family members' contributions in the treatment advice phase

Abstract

Discourse analytic treatments of medical communication have traditionally centered on dyadic interactions, occurring between a physician and a patient. However, given the increasing complexity of healthcare systems, contemporary medical encounters often involve additional participants, including patients' family members. The present study builds on previous research investigating triadic and multi-party medical encounters – primarily in pediatric and geriatric contexts – and extends it to other specialties (i.e., neurology and rheumatology), which include patients with a wider range of ages – in medical contexts where patients are capable of speaking for themselves. Focusing on audio-recordings of naturally-occurring medical discourse, we explore the ways in which family members establish legitimacy as co-collaborators, drawing on strategies that display knowledge, assume authority, and share responsibility within the interaction. In this way, their contributions help to construct an understanding of the patient's condition and, in many cases, affect the treatment decision-making process.