The impact of a diagnostic decision support system on the consultation: perceptions of GPs and patients.

To use the DSS effectively, GPs would need to adapt their consultation style, so that they code more information during rather than at the end of the consultation. This presents a potential barrier to adoption. Training GPs to use the system in a patient-centred way, as well as improvement of the DSS interface itself, could facilitate coding. To enhance patient acceptability, patients should be informed about the potential of the DSS to improve diagnostic accuracy.