Physician empathy and subjective evaluation of medical treatment outcome in trauma surgery patients.

Objective: To analyze whether patients' perception of their medical treatment outcome is higher among patients who experienced a higher empathy by trauma surgeons during their stay in hospital.

Methods: 127 patients were surveyed six weeks after discharge from the trauma surgical general ward. Subjective evaluation of medical treatment outcome was measured with the corresponding scale from the Cologne Patient Questionnaire. Clinical empathy was assessed by using the CARE measure. The influence of physician empathy and control variables on a dichotomized index of subjective evaluation of medical treatment outcome was identified with a logistic regression.

Results: 120 patients were included in the logistic regression analysis. Compared to patients with physician empathy ratings of less than 30 points, patients with ratings of 41 points or higher have a 20-fold higher probability to be in the group with a better medical treatment outcome on the CPQ-scale (α-level<.001, R(2) 46.9).

Conclusion: Findings emphasize the importance of a well-functioning relationship between physician and patient even in a surgical setting where the focus is mostly on the bare medical treatment.

Practice Implications: Communication trainings i.e. in surgical education can be an effective way to improve the ability to show empathy with patients' concerns.