The Effects of Physician Empathy on Patient Satisfaction and Compliance

TLDR

The study developed new patient‑perceived empathy scales and tested a model linking physician empathy to patient satisfaction and compliance. Data from 550 Korean outpatients were collected via questionnaire and analyzed with structural equation modeling. Patient‑perceived empathy increased satisfaction and compliance through information exchange, perceived expertise, interpersonal trust, and partnership, indicating that enhancing empathic communication skills can improve these outcomes.

Abstract

The present study attempted to develop new scales of patient-perceived, empathy-related constructs and to test a model of the relationships of physician empathy and related constructs to patient satisfaction and compliance. Five hundred fifty outpatients at a large university hospital in Korea were interviewed with the questionnaire. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Patient-perceived physician empathy significantly influenced patient satisfaction and compliance via the mediating factors of information exchange, perceived expertise, inter-personal trust, and partnership. Improving physician empathic communication skills should increase patient satisfaction and compliance. Health providers who wish to improve patient satisfaction and compliance should first identify components of their empathic communication needing improvement and then try to refine their skills to better serve patients.