Some basic steps taught to doctors during a hospital-wide training program improved patients’ perception of their physicians’ communication skills.
The training program, which outlined best practices for doctors to follow when interacting with patients, improved communication by 9% as measured in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Provider Systems survey, according to a study in the American Journal of Medical Quality.
With evidence that poor bedside manners can hurt both patient satisfaction scores and finances, more hospitals are putting a high priority on physician empathy.
