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Patient-rated physician empathy and patient satisfaction during pain clinic consultations

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Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Little is known about the influence of patient-perceived healthcare provider empathy on patient satisfaction in the setting of a hospital pain clinic consultation. The objective of this research was to examine the relationship between patient-rated physician empathy and patient satisfaction after a single new pain clinic consultation.

Methods

After institutional ethics committee approval, a sample of 140 adult patients completed a two-page questionnaire, directly after a pain clinic consultation. This included a brief sociodemographic questionnaire, the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure and an overall satisfaction rating.

Results

The sample, N = 140 patients, was balanced for gender and 80% of participants ranged in age from 30 to 70. Of these patients, 80.7% had been living with chronic pain between 1 and 5 years. The data were deemed to be non-parametric and a Spearman’s ranked order correlation analysis yielded a strong positive correlation between patient-rated physician empathy and patient consultation satisfaction.

Conclusion

Patient-rated physician empathy was strongly correlated with patient satisfaction in a pain clinic consultation. Patient satisfaction plays a significant role in adherence to treatment and contributes to a positive working patient-physician therapeutic relationship. This research supports the growing body of research citing the importance of investing in, promoting and developing educational programs for physicians and medical trainees to enhance empathic communication skills within the clinical setting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Sarah Walsh, Aoife O’Neill, Ailish Hannigan & Dominic Harmon

  2. Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Limerick University Hospital, Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland

    Dominic Harmon

Authors
  1. Sarah Walsh
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  2. Aoife O’Neill
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  3. Ailish Hannigan
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  4. Dominic Harmon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dominic Harmon.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Walsh, S., O’Neill, A., Hannigan, A. et al. Patient-rated physician empathy and patient satisfaction during pain clinic consultations. Ir J Med Sci 188, 1379–1384 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-019-01999-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-019-01999-5

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