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Whether in Beijing, Ankara, Groningen or Würzburg, doctors treat patients with heart failure in remarkably similar ways. Not only are the medical procedures similar, but so are the questions doctors ask, their gestures and the way consultations unfold. This is the finding of an international study led by sociologists Anja Weiß and Tao Liu from the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). The findings, recently published in Global Networks, are also relevant to the debate on the recognition of foreign qualifications.

The interdisciplinary research team asked 71 doctors in Beijing, Ankara, Groningen and Würzburg to treat simulated patients—actors portraying people with heart failure. The consultations were video-recorded and analyzed. The simulation method is well established in medical education; it lets the team directly compare how doctors approached the same medical conditions across the four locations. The researchers also examined clinical practice guidelines from different countries.

Despite differences in language, culture and health care systems, the doctors followed remarkably similar approaches. They even asked the same questions: How many flights of stairs can you still climb? How many pillows do you need at night to breathe comfortably?

The similarities went far beyond these questions. Not only were medical knowledge and recommended treatments largely consistent, but the consultations also followed a similar pattern—from the initial greeting and discussion of symptoms to treatment. Even eye contact, posture and gestures showed striking similarities.

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