The purposes of this qualitative study were to describe the attributes that characterize patient-physician communications, the effect of patient-physician interactions on patient satisfaction, and the correspondence between physicians' education and training and their interactions with patients. The authors used unobtrusive observations of patient-physician interactions, physician interviews, and patient interviews. The authors observed 7 physicians and interviewed 20 patients over a 6-month period. There was no agreement among the physicians about whether managed care influenced their ability to relate to patients. The majority of patients interviewed were satisfied with their interactions with their physician and hospital stay.