Clinical interviewing is the basic method to understand how a person feels and what are the presenting complaints, obtain medical history, evaluate personal attitudes and behavior related to health and disease, give the patient information about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, and establish a bond between patient and physician that is crucial for shared decision making and self-management. However, the value of this basic skill is threatened by time pressures and emphasis on technology. Current health care trends privilege expensive tests and procedures and tag the time devoted to interaction with the patient as lacking cost-effectiveness. Instead, the time spent to inquire about problems and life setting may actually help to avoid further testing, procedures, and referrals. Moreover, the dialogue between patient and physician is an essential instrument to increase patient's motivation to engage in healthy behavior. The aim of this paper was to provide an overview of clinical interviewing and its optimal use in relation to style, flow and hypothesis testing, clinical domains, modifications according to settings and goals, and teaching. This review points to the primacy of interviewing in the clinical process. The quality of interviewing determines the quality of data that are collected and, eventually, of assessment and treatment. Thus, interviewing deserves more attention in educational training and more space in clinical encounters than it is currently receiving.

Telemedicine has a rich history, and recent advancements in communication technology have expanded its potential. Despite COVID-19 pandemic-related surges, telemedicine has returned to pre-pandemic levels in some settings, highlighting the need to understand the drivers and contextual factors. Previous studies using linear prediction models and single-method approaches fail to capture the complexities and nonlinear relationships among clinicians, patients, technology, and clinical tasks. We employ a concurrent mixed-method approach, combining quantitative analysis of electronic medical record (EMR) data and Activity Theory analysis of clinician interviews to investigate telemedicine drivers in primary care clinics. Findings confirm the significant role of clinicians and challenge assumptions of resistance to technology. Clinicians exhibit Plasticity and Elasticity by balancing roles, adjusting routines, and prioritizing patients' clinical and social needs to accommodate telemedicine. It informs technological design interventions to enhance telemedicine and clinical care, including data transfer, virtual touch, and sociodemographic integration into EMR.