Physician and Patient Communication Training in Primary Care: Effects on Participation and Satisfaction

• Published in: Health psychology 2008-09, Vol.27 (5), p.513-522
• Main Authors: Haskard, Kelly B, Williams, Summer L, DiMatteo, M. Robin, Rosenthal, Robert, White, Maysel Kemp, Goldstein, Michael G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Client Satisfaction; Communication; Communication Skills; Communication Skills Training; Counselling; Doctor-Patient communication; Female; Health staff related problems. Vocational training; Human; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Outcomes; Patient Participation; Patient satisfaction; Personal Satisfaction; Physician-Patient Relations; Physicians; Primary Health Care; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Stress; Surveys and Questionnaires; Therapeutic Processes; Therapeutical relation and framework; Treatment Outcomes; Treatments
• ISSN: 0278-6133; 1930-7810
• DOI: 10.1037/0278-6133.27.5.513

Objective: To assess the effects of a communication skills training program for physicians and patients. Design: A randomized experiment to improve physician communication skills was assessed 1 and 6 months after a training intervention; patient training to be active participants was assessed after 1 month. Across three primary medical care settings, 156 physicians treating 2,196 patients were randomly assigned to control group or one of three conditions (physician, patient, or both trained). Main Outcome Measures: Patient satisfaction and perceptions of choice, decision-making, information, and lifestyle counseling; physicians' satisfaction and stress; and global ratings of the communication process. Results: The following significant ( p < .05) effects emerged: physician training improved patients' satisfaction with information and overall care; increased willingness to recommend the physician; increased physicians' counseling (as reported by patients) about weight loss, exercise, and quitting smoking and alcohol; increased physician satisfaction with physical exam detail; increased independent ratings of physicians' sensitive, connected communication with their patients, and decreased physician satisfaction with interpersonal aspects of professional life. Patient training improved physicians' satisfaction with data collection; if only physician or patient was trained, physician stress increased and physician satisfaction decreased. Conclusion: Implications for improving physician-patient relationship outcomes through communication skills training are discussed.