Since the age of Hippocrates, the importance of an empathetic relationship between doctor and patient during treatment has been acknowledged. In one of the works from the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of early Greek medical works, it is written of a physician that “He should endure peacefully the insults of the patients since those suffering from melancholic or frenetic ailments are likely to hurl evil words at physicians.” This is age-old wisdom, indeed. However, many believe that there has been an overall decline in the quality of interactions between doctors and patients. Even in past decades the biggest criticism of hospitals and clinics are their sterile interactions and scripted responses from nurses and doctors. This type of treatment is cause for concern, because studies show that a positive relationship between doctor and patient is an important factor in determining health outcomes. If there is to be an improvement in the interactions of medical staff and patients, it has to begin in education. Scholars of medicine today learn the material but are sometimes lacking in etiquette and day-to-day interactions.
A review published in the journal PLOS One revealed that relationship-focused training for physicians could have a positive, measurable effect on the health outcomes in patients with diabetes, obesity, osteoarthritis, and asthma. It could also affect weight loss, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and pain, and have a greater effect than aspirin in preventing heart attacks. Because of the highly emotional aspects associated with the field of oncology, several medical schools have begun participating in a program called “Oncotalk,” which is specifically designed to teach doctors clinical empathy. This direct care is beneficial for both doctor and patient in the long run.
New tools for measuring empathy, such as the Jefferson Scale of Empathy, are being developed and used by researchers in developing doctor-training programs. Among the goals of these training programs are to reduce defensiveness, improve listening skills, and decode facial expressions and body language.
Mass General and other Harvard teaching hospitals are requiring that their 2,000 residents take “Empathetics,” a series of online courses. A 2012 study showed that patients judged doctors who had taken the course significantly better at understanding their concerns than those who had not. Columbia University School of Medicine is pioneering a program in narrative medicine to emphasize the importance of understanding patients’ lives in providing holistic and compassionate care.
Under the Affordable Care Act, in addition to a greater focus on patient outcomes, patient satisfaction scores are now being used to calculate reimbursement from Medicare. Over 70 percent of health networks and hospitals now use patient satisfaction scores as a factor in deciding how much compensation physicians receive. If you want to be a successful physician, you have to be prepared in this area, and the right education is where to start. More good news for patients is that the Medical College Admission Test will now contain questions involving human behavior and psychology, another important step in acknowledging how necessary it is for doctors to have an understanding of people as well as science. Hopefully with these improvements and course additions, future medical professionals will have the demeanor and social skills ready to help patients on more than one level of care.
