The Relationship Between Patient Satisfaction and Physician Communication
These are abstracts from many of the research studies on the relationship between patient satisfaction, physician communication and risk management and/or malpractice suits. This is a highly researched subject. I have highlighted the conclusion section for each abstract. There were some articles for which abstracts were not available. The citations are listed in case any of you have FREE access to these sites.
Am J Med. 2005 Oct;118(10):1126-33. |
The relation of patient satisfaction with complaints against physicians and malpractice lawsuits.
Stelfox HT, Gandhi TK, Orav EJ, Gustafson ML.
Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care,
PURPOSE: A small number of physicians generate a disproportionate share of complaints from patients and of malpractice lawsuits. If these grievances relate to patients' dissatisfaction with care, it might be possible to use commonly distributed patient satisfaction surveys to identify physicians at high risk of complaints from patients and of malpractice lawsuits. We sought to examine associations among patients' satisfaction survey ratings of physicians' performance and complaints from patients, risk management episodes, and rates of malpractice lawsuits. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We examined 353 physicians at a large
Physician Exec. 2004 May-Jun;30(3):36-8. |
Reducing litigation costs through better patient communication. School
Eastaugh SR.
The most common cause of malpractice suits is failed communication with the patients and their families. Explore ways that better communication could lead to fewer malpractice claims and allow health care organizations to reduce litigation costs.
Instr Course Lect. 2005;54:3-9. |
Communication skills.
Tongue JR, Epps HR, Forese LL.
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,
Surveys of
Mayo Clin Proc. 2003 Feb;78(2):211-4. |
Two words to improve physician-patient communication: what else?
Barrier PA, Li JT, Jensen NM.
Division of Preventive and Occupational Medicine and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic,
The medical interview is the physician's initial and perhaps most important diagnostic procedure, but physicians vary in their abilities and skills in physician-patient communication. Information gathering, relationship building, and patient education are the 3 essential functions of the medical interview. A physician-centered interview using a biomedical model can impede disclosure of problems and concerns. A patient-centered approach can facilitate patient disclosure of problems and enhance physician-patient communication. This, in turn, can improve health outcomes, patient compliance, and patient satisfaction and may decrease malpractice claims. Physicians can improve their communication skills through continuing education and practice.
Ethn Dis. 2002 Fall;12(4):S3-58-61. |
Communication skills to improve patient satisfaction and quality of care.
Fortin AH 6th.
Department of Medicine,
While clinicians face increasing time pressure in caring for patients, communication with the patient can suffer. Communication is especially important in caring for the increasingly culturally diverse patient population in the
Psychiatr Serv. 2002 Oct;53(10):1253-65. |
Research on the influence that communication in psychiatric encounters has on treatment.
Cruz M, Pincus HA.
Department of Psychiatry,
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to inform mental health professionals about the empirical literature on medical and psychiatric encounters and the influence of communicative behaviors on specific encounter outputs and treatment outcomes. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the health communications literature from 1950 to 2001, using MEDLINE and PsycINFO, was conducted to identify relevant articles on the communication skills of psychiatrists and other physicians. These searches were augmented by personal correspondence with experts on changes in practice patterns in psychiatry and on medical and psychiatric communications research. A review of references within each article and information from the experts identified other relevant articles. Selection was then narrowed to include reports of studies that used structured written instruments that captured relevant physician and patient perceptions of the physician-patient relationship, content analysis of audio- or videotapes of communication in medical or psychiatric encounters, or interaction analysis systems used to categorize audio- or videotaped communicative behaviors in medical or psychiatric encounters. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-five articles in medicine and 34 articles in psychiatry were selected. Medical communication researchers have observed associations between physicians' communicative skills and patients' satisfaction, patients' adherence to treatment recommendations, treatment outputs, and patients' willingness to file malpractice claims. The research has also shown that primary care physicians can be more responsive to patients' concerns without lengthening visits. In psychiatry, the literature can be organized into four discrete categories of research: negotiated treatment and the customer approach, therapeutic alliance, Gottschalk-Gleser content analysis of patients' speech, and content analysis of psychiatric interviews.
JAMA. 2002 Jun 12;287(22):2951-7. |
Patient complaints and malpractice risk.
Hickson GB, Federspiel CF, Pichert JW, Miller CS, Gauld-Jaeger J, Bost P.
Department of Pediatrics,
CONTEXT: A small number of physicians experience a disproportionate share of malpractice claims and expenses. If malpractice risk is related in large measure to factors such as patient dissatisfaction with interpersonal behaviors, care and treatment, and access, it might be possible to monitor physicians' risk of being sued. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between physicians' patient complaint records and their risk management experiences. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 645 general and specialist physicians in a large
J Med Pract Manage. 2001 Nov-Dec;17(3):142-4. |
How to increase economic returns and reduce liability exposure: Part 1--Patient satisfaction as an economic tool.
Saxton JW.
JWS@Stevenslee.com
This two-part article outlines a process whereby practices can enhance profitability and reduce malpractice risks. The key is involvement of all parties. First, providers at all levels, including physicians, must understand the factors that promote patient satisfaction. Next, patients must become incorporated into the diagnostic and therapeutic process. That they be allowed to do so requires a shift in providers' attitudes from one of authority figure to co-manager of care. Various methods are described to help staff, providers and patients communicate better. Specific tools to increase patient involvement are outlined.
J Med Pract Manage. 2001 Jul-Aug;17(1):21-4. |
Office staff savvy: quality staff-patient communications as a loss prevention strategy.
Nye LG.
Illinois State Medical Insurance Services, Inc.,
Based on the prevalence of medical error that continues to make headlines, you would think that physicians are so busy defending medical malpractice lawsuits that they don't have time to practice medicine. Although many physicians may feel like this, in fact, it is not the case. Contrary to what the media would have you believing, it is not "the conspiracy of silence" that's keeping physicians out of court. It's good, old-fashioned effective communication: courtesy, empathy, friendliness, and professionalism. Because the complexity of health care delivery imposes ever-greater demands on physicians' time, medical office staff play a larger-than-ever role in defining the tenor of physician-patient relationships. It has become incumbent on staff to become the physicians' partners in effectuating patient relationships built on quality communications. This article will discuss ways in which office staff can utilize effective communications to improve physician-patient relationships, thereby reducing professional liability exposures.
J Med Pract Manage. 1999 Mar-Apr;14(5):226-30. |
In context: physician-patient communication and managed care.
Levinson W.
Section of General Internal Medicine,
Communication between a physician and his or her patient is a critical component of medical care delivery. The quality of communication affects patient satisfaction and health outcomes. Managed care has heightened the awareness of communication because of the direct links among communication, outcomes, and malpractice liability. This article describes patient satisfaction, the relationship between communication and biological outcomes, the role that communication plays in malpractice prevention, the communication challenges present in the managed health care environment, and the need for communication skills training.
JAMA. 1994 Nov 23-30;272(20):1583-7. |
Obstetricians' prior malpractice experience and patients' satisfaction with care.
Hickson GB, Clayton EW, Entman SS, Miller CS, Githens PB, Whetten-Goldstein K, Sloan FA.
Department of Pediatrics,
OBJECTIVE--To examine the relationship between prior physician malpractice experience and patients' satisfaction with care. DESIGN--Women were interviewed using a questionnaire that contained structured and open-ended questions. PARTICIPANTS--Mothers of all stillborn infants, infant deaths, and a random sampling of viable infants drawn from 1987 Florida Vital Statistics were sorted into four groups based on the malpractice claims experience of their obstetricians between 1983 and 1986. Interviews were completed with 963 of 1536 women, most by telephone, 53 by in-person interview. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Mothers' responses to closed-ended and open-ended questions about their perceptions of the care they received during their pregnancy, labor, and delivery. RESULTS--Even though none of the women actually filed a claim, a consistent pattern of differences emerged when comparing women's perceptions of care received. Patients seeing physicians with the most frequent numbers of claims but without high payments were significantly more likely to complain that they felt rushed, never received explanations for tests, and were ignored. In response to the open-ended question, "What part of your care were you least satisfied with?" women seeing physicians in the High Frequency malpractice risk group offered twice as many complaints as those seeing physicians who had never been sued. Problems with physician-patient communication were the most commonly offered complaints. CONCLUSION--Physicians who have been sued frequently are more often the objects of complaints about the interpersonal care they provide even by their patients who do not sue.
