Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Mental Health

Physician’s empathy directly associated with positive clinical outcomes

by Thomas Jefferson University
September 10, 2012
in Mental Health

[Subscribe to PsyPost on YouTube to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Patients of doctors who are more empathic have better outcomes and fewer complications, concludes a large, empirical study by a team of Thomas Jefferson University and Italian researchers who evaluated relationships between physician empathy and clinical outcomes among 20,961 diabetic patients and 242 physicians in Italy.

The study was published in the September 2012 issue of Academic Medicine, and serves as a follow up to a smaller study published in the same journal in March 2011 from Thomas Jefferson University investigating physician empathy and its impact on patient outcomes. That study included 891 diabetic patients and 29 physicians and concluded similar findings: patients of physicians with high empathy scores had better clinical outcomes than patients of other physicians with lower scores.

“This new, large-scale research study has confirmed that empathic physician-patient relationships is an important factor in positive outcomes,” said Mohammadreza Hojat, Ph.D., research professor, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior; and director, Jefferson Longitudinal Study of Medical Education in the Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care at Jefferson Medical College. “It takes our hypothesis one step further. Compared to our initial study, it has a much larger number of patients and physicians, a different tangible clinical outcome, hospital admission for acute metabolic complications, and a cross-cultural feature that will allow for generalization of the findings in different cultures, and different health care systems.”

Participants in this study were 20,961 diabetic patients from a population of over 284,000 adult patients in the Local Health Authority, Parma, Italy, enrolled with one of 242 primary care physicians.

Researchers used the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) – developed in 2001 as an instrument to measure empathy in the context of medical education and patient care. This validated instrument relies on the definition of empathy in the context of patient care as a predominately cognitive attribute that involves an understanding of patient’s concerns, pain, and suffering, and an intention to help. The scale includes 20 items answered on a seven-point Likert-type scale (strongly agree = 7, strongly disagree = 1). The 242 physicians completed the JSE.

In the 2011 study, to measure how a physician’s empathy impacted a diabetic patient’s treatment outcomes, the researchers used the results of two medical tests: the hemoglobin A1c test and cholesterol levels measurements. They found a direct association between a higher physician JSE score and a better control of patients’ hemoglobin A1c and cholesterol level.

Here, researchers sought a different tangible clinical outcome. The presence of acute metabolic complications among diabetic patients, including hyperosmolar state, diabetic ketoacides, and coma, for patients who were hospitalized in 2009 was used as the outcome measure. Acute metabolic complications were used because they require hospitalization, can develop rather quickly, and their prevention is more likely to be influenced by the primary care physicians.

A total of 123 patients were hospitalized because of acute metabolic complications in 2009. Results showed that physicians in the higher empathy score group had a lower rate of patients with acute metabolic complications. For example, physicians with higher empathy levels had 29 (out of 7,224) patients admitted to the hospital, whereas physicians with lower levels had 42 (out of 6,434) patients.

There are many factors that add to the strength of the study. Firstly, because of universal health care coverage in Italy, there is no confounding effect of difference in insurance, lack of insurance or financial barriers to access care.

“What’s more, this second study was conducted in a health care system in which all residents enroll with a primary care physician resulting in a better defined relationship between the patients and their primary care physicians than what exists in the United States,” said co-author Daniel Z. Louis, Managing Director for the Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care and research associate professor of family and community medicine at JMC. “Italy has a lower rate of switching doctors, facilitating long-lasting physician patient relationships,” added co-author Vittorio Maio, PharmD, M.S., MSPH, associate professor at the Jefferson School of Population Health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 25 million people in the U.S. population have been diagnosed with diabetes, with almost 700,000 hospitalizations per year. There are approximately 2 million new cases per year. Worldwide, the number of total cases jumps to 180 million.

“Results of this study confirmed our hypothesis that a validated measure of physician empathy is significantly associated with the incidence of acute metabolic complications in diabetic patients, and provide the much-needed, additional empirical support for the beneficial effects of empathy in patient care” said Dr. Hojat. “These findings also support the recommendations of such professional organizations as the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Board of Internal Medicine of the importance of assessing and enhancing empathic skills in undergraduate and graduate medical education.”

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePinSend
Previous Post

Study shows women are starting families later in life because they are spending longer in education

Next Post

Computer, read my lips: Emotion detector developed using a genetic algorithm

STAY CONNECTED

Find these awesome psychology shirts and more at the PsyPost Store!

TRENDING

New study identifies perceived mattering as a core psychological component of happy marriages

Social anxiety tends to be elevated among those who suffered emotional maltreatment in childhood

Scientists use deep learning algorithms to predict political ideology based on facial characteristics

Higher prenatal testosterone exposure is linked to Machiavellianism and psychopathy, study suggests

New study hints at the characteristics of the “ideal” female breast

Diversity of the gut microbiota is associated with the severity of depression

RECENT

New study identifies perceived mattering as a core psychological component of happy marriages

Diversity of the gut microbiota is associated with the severity of depression

Higher prenatal testosterone exposure is linked to Machiavellianism and psychopathy, study suggests

New research: Brain implant can objectively measure chronic pain severity

New study hints at the characteristics of the “ideal” female breast

Our brain prefers positive vocal sounds that come from our left

Study highlights the importance of napping for memory consolidation in early childhood

People with advanced biological age are at greater risk of developing depression and anxiety, study finds

Currently Playing

Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Childhood adversity associated with increased emotional response to others’ suffering in adulthood

Mental Health
New study sheds light on cognitive mechanisms linked to hypnosis

Chronic intake of refined carbohydrates between meals is associated with decreased cognitive performance, study finds

Cognitive Science
Mindfulness might hinder prosocial behavior among individuals with high intelligence

Mindfulness might hinder prosocial behavior among individuals with high intelligence

Social Psychology
Women who have larger breasts tend to have lower levels of satisfaction with their breasts, study finds

Women who have larger breasts tend to have lower levels of satisfaction with their breasts, study finds

Social Psychology
Unwanted celibacy is linked to hostility towards women, sexual objectification of women, and endorsing rape myths

Depressive symptoms tied to malevolent creativity in new study

Depression
Psychosocial stress triggers an oxytocin response in women, study finds

Oxytocin alters amygdala activation in response to angry faces in antisocial personality disorder

Cognitive Science
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.