Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: a review.

TLDR

The study aimed to determine whether the quality of physician‑patient communication significantly affects patient health outcomes. The authors conducted a systematic review of 21 studies (RCTs and analytic) identified through MEDLINE, bibliographies, and conference proceedings, extracting data on sample size, patient characteristics, setting, communication elements, outcomes, and the direction and significance of associations. Effective communication during history-taking and management discussion was associated with improved emotional health, symptom resolution, function, physiologic measures, and pain control, with 16 of 21 studies reporting positive results and most demonstrating a correlation between communication quality and better outcomes. Future research should evaluate educational programs based on the identified communication components.

Abstract

To ascertain whether the quality of physician-patient communication makes a significant difference to patient health outcomes.The MEDLINE database was searched for articles published from 1983 to 1993 using "physician-patient relations" as the primary medical subject heading. Several bibliographies and conference proceedings were also reviewed.Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and analytic studies of physician-patient communication in which patient health was an outcome variable.The following information was recorded about each study: sample size, patient characteristics, clinical setting, elements of communication assessed, patient outcomes measured, and direction and significance of any association found between aspects of communication and patient outcomes.Of the 21 studies that met the final criteria for review, 16 reported positive results, 4 reported negative (i.e., nonsignificant) results, and 1 was inconclusive. The quality of communication both in the history-taking segment of the visit and during discussion of the management plan was found to influence patient health outcomes. The outcomes affected were, in descending order of frequency, emotional health, symptom resolution, function, physiologic measures (i.e., blood pressure and blood sugar level) and pain control.Most of the studies reviewed demonstrated a correlation between effective physician-patient communication and improved patient health outcomes. The components of effective communication identified by these studies can be used as the basis both for curriculum development in medical education and for patient education programs. Future research should focus on evaluating such educational programs.