Associations Between Physician Empathy, Physician Characteristics, and Standardized Measures of Patient Experience

Chaitoff, Alexander; Sun, Bob; Windover, Amy; Bokar, Daniel; Featherall, Joseph; Rothberg, Michael B.; Misra‐Hebert, Anita D.

doi:10.1097/acm.0000000000001671

Cited by 88 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In a large scale study at the Cleveland Clinic (Chaitoff et al 2017), significant associations were observed between physicians’ JSE scores and standardized measures of patients’ communication experiences with their physicians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Jefferson Scale of Empathy: a nationwide study of measurement properties, underlying components, latent variable structure, and national norms in medical students

Hojat

DeSantis

Shannon³

et al. 2018

Adv in Health Sci Educ

161

174

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The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) is a broadly used instrument developed to measure empathy in the context of health professions education and patient care. Evidence in support of psychometrics of the JSE has been reported in health professions students and practitioners with the exception of osteopathic medical students. This study was designed to examine measurement properties, underlying components, and latent variable structure of the JSE in a nationwide sample of first-year matriculants at U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine, and to develop a national norm table for the assessment of JSE scores. A web-based survey was administered at the beginning of the 2017–2018 academic year which included the JSE, a scale to detect “good impression” responses, and demographic/background information. Usable surveys were received from 6009 students enrolled in 41 college campuses (median response rate = 92%). The JSE mean score and standard deviation for the sample were 116.54 and 10.85, respectively. Item-total score correlations were positive and statistically significant (p < 0.01), and Cronbach α = 0.82. Significant gender differences were observed on the JSE scores in favor of women. Also, significant differences were found on item scores between top and bottom third scorers on the JSE. Three factors of Perspective Taking, Compassionate Care, and Walking in Patient’s Shoes emerged in an exploratory factor analysis by using half of the sample. Results of confirmatory factor analysis with another half of the sample confirmed the 3-factor model. We also developed a national norm table which is the first to assess students’ JSE scores against national data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Jefferson Scale of Empathy: a nationwide study of measurement properties, underlying components, latent variable structure, and national norms in medical students

Hojat

DeSantis

Shannon³

et al. 2018

Adv in Health Sci Educ

161

174

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“…53 Physician training programs aimed at enhancing empathy likely result in improved patient experience. 9,10,54 However, the impact of such interventions on clinical endpoints in diabetes now appears less likely given the addition of our negative study to a small body of literature in diabetes care that, with the exception of Hojat's studies, has failed to find an association. This mirrors the state of the literature more broadly, which has long connected physician characteristics with patient satisfaction and trust, 10,[55][56][57] and suggested that these associations may correlate with clinical outcomes, 58 but has not been able to consistently quantify such a link.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…7,8 One aspect of patient-centered communication, physician empathy, has been shown to correlate with patient experience measures, making it an area of growing interest for its potential to improve care. 9,10 Recently, a retrospective study linked primary care physician empathy with hypertension control, adding evidence to support the hypothesis that physician empathy may directly affect patients' clinical outcomes. 11 There are several ways in which physician empathy has been postulated to affect patient outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physician Empathy Is Not Associated with Laboratory Outcomes in Diabetes: a Cross-sectional Study

et al. 2018

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BACKGROUND: One widely cited study suggested a link between physician empathy and laboratory outcomes in patients with diabetes, but its findings have not been replicated. While empathy has a positive impact on patient experience, its impact on other outcomes remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess associations between physician empathy and glycosylated hemoglobin (HgbA1c) as well as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in patients with diabetes. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with diabetes who received care at a large integrated health system in the USA between January 1, 2011, and May 31, 2014, and their primary care physicians. MAIN MEASURES: The main independent measure was physician empathy, as measured by the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE). The JSE is scored on a scale of 20-140, with higher scores indicating greater empathy. Dependent measures included patient HgbA1c and LDL. Mixedeffects linear regression models adjusting for patient sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidity index, and physician characteristics were used to assess the association between physician JSE scores and their patients' HgbA1c and LDL. KEY RESULTS: The sample included 4176 primary care patients who received care with one of 51 primary care physicians. Mean physician JSE score was 118.4 (standard deviation (SD) = 12). Median patient HgbA1c was 6.7% (interquartile range (IQR) = 6.2-7.5) and median LDL concentration was 83 (IQR = 66-104). In adjusted analyses, there was no association between JSE scores and HgbA1c (β = − 0.01, 95%CI = − 0.04, 0.02, p = 0.47) or LDL (β = 0.41, 95%CI = − 0.47, 1.29, p = 0.35). CONCLUSION: Physician empathy was not associated with HgbA1c or LDL. While interventions to increase physician empathy may result in more patient-centered care, they may not improve clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes.

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“…Empathy, or the ability to connect with and share the feelings of another, has been correlated with measures of patient experience. 28 Characteristics of provider communication and overall provider rating from patient experience surveys are associated with degree of provider empathy, leading to the implementation of empathy training for provider staff at large academic medical centers. 28 The relationship between both provider empathy and communication and patient outcomes has shown mixed results in the literature, but links with these components of care and patient satisfaction continue to be reported.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creation of a Patient-Centered Journey Map to Improve the Patient Experience: A Mixed Methods Approach

Philpot

Khokhar

DeZutter

et al. 2019

Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes

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Associations Between Physician Empathy, Physician Characteristics, and Standardized Measures of Patient Experience

Abstract: Specialty and sex were independently associated with physician empathy. Empathy was correlated with higher scores on multiple CG-CAHPS items, suggesting improving physician empathy might play a role in improving patient experience.

Cited by 88 publications

References 34 publications

The Jefferson Scale of Empathy: a nationwide study of measurement properties, underlying components, latent variable structure, and national norms in medical students

The Jefferson Scale of Empathy: a nationwide study of measurement properties, underlying components, latent variable structure, and national norms in medical students

Physician Empathy Is Not Associated with Laboratory Outcomes in Diabetes: a Cross-sectional Study

Creation of a Patient-Centered Journey Map to Improve the Patient Experience: A Mixed Methods Approach

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