RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A Multicenter Study of Physician Mindfulness and Health Care Quality
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 421
OP 428
DO 10.1370/afm.1507
VO 11
IS 5
A1 Mary Catherine Beach
A1 Debra Roter
A1 P. Todd Korthuis
A1 Ronald M. Epstein
A1 Victoria Sharp
A1 Neda Ratanawongsa
A1 Jonathon Cohn
A1 Susan Eggly
A1 Andrea Sankar
A1 Richard D. Moore
A1 Somnath Saha
YR 2013
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/11/5/421.abstract
AB PURPOSE Mindfulness (ie, purposeful and nonjudgmental attentiveness to one’s own experience, thoughts, and feelings) is associated with physician well-being. We sought to assess whether clinician self-rated mindfulness is associated with the quality of patient care. METHODS We conducted an observational study of 45 clinicians (34 physicians, 8 nurse practitioners, and 3 physician assistants) caring for patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and 437 HIV-infected patients at 4 HIV specialty clinic sites across the United States. We measured patient-clinician communication quality with audio-recorded encounters coded using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) and patient ratings of care. RESULTS In adjusted analyses comparing clinicians with highest and lowest tertile mindfulness scores, patient visits with high-mindfulness clinicians were more likely to be characterized by a patient-centered pattern of communication (adjusted odds ratio of a patient-centered visit was 4.14; 95% CI, 1.58–10.86), in which both patients and clinicians engaged in more rapport building and discussion of psychosocial issues. Clinicians with high-mindfulness scores also displayed more positive emotional tone with patients (adjusted β = 1.17; 95% CI, 0.46–1.9). Patients were more likely to give high ratings on clinician communication (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] = 1.48; 95% CI, 1.17–1.86) and to report high overall satisfaction (APR = 1.45; 95 CI, 1.15–1.84) with high-mindfulness clinicians. There was no association between clinician mindfulness and the amount of conversation about biomedical issues. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians rating themselves as more mindful engage in more patient-centered communication and have more satisfied patients. Interventions should determine whether improving clinician mindfulness can also improve patient health outcomes.