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Observational Study
. 2016 Jul;31(7):755-61.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-016-3597-2. Epub 2016 Feb 26.

Communication Skills Training for Physicians Improves Patient Satisfaction

Adrienne Boissy  1 , Amy K Windover  2 , Dan Bokar  2 , Matthew Karafa  3 , Katie Neuendorf  2 , Richard M Frankel  2   4 , James Merlino  5 , Michael B Rothberg  6
Affiliations
Observational Study

Communication Skills Training for Physicians Improves Patient Satisfaction

Adrienne Boissy et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2016 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Skilled physician communication is a key component of patient experience. Large-scale studies of exposure to communication skills training and its impact on patient satisfaction have not been conducted.

Objective: We aimed to examine the impact of experiential relationship-centered physician communication skills training on patient satisfaction and physician experience.

Design: This was an observational study.

Setting: The study was conducted at a large, multispecialty academic medical center.

Participants: Participants included 1537 attending physicians who participated in, and 1951 physicians who did not participate in, communication skills training between 1 August 2013 and 30 April 2014.

Intervention: An 8-h block of interactive didactics, live or video skill demonstrations, and small group and large group skills practice sessions using a relationship-centered model.

Main measures: Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CGCAHPS), Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), self-efficacy, and post course satisfaction.

Key results: Following the course, adjusted overall CGCAHPS scores for physician communication were higher for intervention physicians than for controls (92.09 vs. 91.09, p < 0.03). No significant interactions were noted between physician specialty or baseline CGCAHPS and improvement following the course. Significant improvement in the post-course HCAHPS Respect domain adjusted mean was seen in intervention versus control groups (91.08 vs. 88.79, p = 0.02) and smaller, non-statistically significant improvements were also seen for adjusted HCAHPS communication scores (83.95 vs. 82.73, p = 0.22). Physicians reported high course satisfaction and showed significant improvement in empathy (116.4 ± 12.7 vs. 124 ± 11.9, p < 0.001) and burnout, including all measures of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Less depersonalization and greater personal accomplishment were sustained for at least 3 months.

Conclusions: System-wide relationship-centered communication skills training improved patient satisfaction scores, improved physician empathy, self-efficacy, and reduced physician burnout. Further research is necessary to examine longer-term sustainability of such interventions.

Keywords: CGCAHPS; HCAHPS; burnout; communication; empathy; patient experience; patient satisfaction; physician.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have worked or currently work for The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The R.E.D.E. to CommunicateSM: Foundations of Healthcare Communication course is a commercial product of the Cleveland Clinic. No authors receive personal revenue from the sale of the course. James Merlino, MD is currently employed by Press Ganey Associates, Inc. as the President and Chief Medical Officer in Strategic Consulting.

Adrienne Boissy, MD, MA: Nothing to disclose

Amy K. Windover, PhD: Nothing to disclose

Dan Bokar: Nothing to disclose

Matthew Karafa, PhD: Nothing to disclose

Lu Wang: Nothing to disclose

Katie Neuendorf, MD: Nothing to disclose

Richard M. Frankel, PhD: Nothing to disclose

James Merlino, MD: Employed by Press Ganey Associates, Inc. as the President and Chief Medical Officer in Strategic Consulting

Michael B. Rothberg, MD, MPH: Nothing to disclose

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Eligible study and control populations. *Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE), Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS), Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CGCAHPS).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Participants’ satisfaction with the course. *All comparisons are highly significant (p < 0.001).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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