| Patient participation |
| Patient | Physician(s) | |||
| Information flow between the patient and his physician(s) | Information giving | Information clarifying/seeking | Information giving | Information clarifying/ seeking | ||
| None | Specific topic not discussed (No information flow between patient and physician) | No | No | No | No | |
| Low | One-way flow from physician(s) to patient | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Moderate [1] | Limited two way flow between patient and physician(s) | Variable (Yes or No) | Variable | Variable | Variable | |
| High [2] | Active two way flow between patient and physician(s) | Yes | Yes | Variable | Variable | |