OBJECTIVE: To conduct a scoping review of stigma in medical encounters for persistent physical symptoms and functional disorders (PPS/FD). Stigma is a social attribute that links a person to an undesirable characteristic. It has been extensively studied in relation to mental illness but less so in relation to PPS/FD.
METHODS: We followed PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines for scoping reviews. Searches for were designed using the SPIDER tool. We used descriptive and thematic analysis.
RESULTS: The searches identified 68 articles, of which 32 were eligible for inclusion. 31 out of the 32 studies used a qualitative methodology. 8 studies used an explicit definition of stigma, of which 6 used the Goffman (1963) definition. Only 2 studies directly examined clinical consultations, the remainder relied on recalled accounts by patients or professionals. Descriptive analysis identified the focus of the studies included: patient-physician interaction (n = 13); health care professionals\' perceptions (n = 7); experiences of illness/stigma (n = 6); broader meaning of illness (n = 3); and patients\' experiences of stigma in health care consultations (n = 3).
CONCLUSIONS: Patients experience stigmatisation in consultations for a wide range of PPS/FD. This suggests the presence of structural stigmatisation.
CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for effective stigma reduction strategies in consultations about persistent physical symptoms.

To identify standardized instruments measuring physician communication and interpersonal skills based on video-recorded consultations.
We searched electronic databases for primary studies published from 1950 to 2022. Eligible studies had to report the validation of standardized instruments dedicated to the assessment of physician interpersonal skills based on video-recorded consultations with adult patients.
Of 7155 studies retrieved, 13 primary studies involving nine standardized instruments were included. The median number of physicians and participants was 23 (range, 1-200) and 71 (range, 1-950), respectively. Seven out of nine instruments were multidimensional and comprised a median number of 23 items (range, 7-95). The conceptual framework was reported for two instruments only. Content analysis identified 12 key behaviors with substantial overlap across instruments. The Four Habits Coding Scheme (4-HCS) yielded satisfactory validity and reliability while the evidence on psychometric properties was limited for other instruments.
Limited evidence supports the psychometric attributes for most of the published standardized instruments dedicated to assessing physician communication and interpersonal skills.
Although the decision to use a specific instrument depends on the study aims, the 4-HCS appears to be the most reliable instrument for assessing physician communication and interpersonal skills based on video-recorded consultations.