Empathic care in medicine is associated with greater patient satisfaction, a new review has found.
“Patient satisfaction” is more than a fluffy metric that measures how satisfied “customers” are. Increased patient satisfaction is associated with, among other things, improved survival after heart attacks, a lower risk of being readmitted to hospital, higher general quality of care and better patient safety.
Empathic care is also associated with patients taking their drugs as prescribed, which itself improves patient outcomes.
Unfortunately, patient satisfaction is often lacking.
In 2022, only 36% of surveyed UK patients were satisfied with their care in the NHS – the lowest since it was first measured in 1997. The COVID pandemic has exacerbated the decline in patient satisfaction.
Between 2020 and 2021, patient satisfaction dropped by 17% in the UK, the largest one-year drop ever recorded. This fall in satisfaction was reflected across all services, including hospital treatment (inpatient and outpatient), general practice and dentistry. Similar trends have been seen in the US, where a 2022 poll found that less than half of Americans are satisfied with their healthcare.
Several interventions have been used to raise patient satisfaction including real-time patient experience surveys, improved cleanliness and better communication. But a review of these interventions in hospitals found that the results were mixed.
A cure for poor patient satisfaction remains elusive.
Empathy is key
Some recent studies have suggested that if healthcare professionals were more empathic, it could improve patient satisfaction.
Showing increased empathy helps patients to be more forthcoming about their concerns, creating a better understanding of their health issues. When doctors spend a bit more time doing this, patients appear to be more satisfied with their care.