Coaching in Health Care: The Patient-Physician Relationship and the Role of the Physician Leader

The study showed physician knowledge of the patient and patient trust of the physician strongly correlates with patient adherence to the recommended treatment.  In practical terms, the physician who treats the patient as a “whole” person, partnered with the patient who trusts the physician, yields a strong bond that translates into the patient being up to three times more likely to follow the physician’s advice.

Patient trust was also a strong factor in satisfaction with the physician. Patients in the 95th percentile level of trust were five times more likely to be completely satisfied with their physician versus patients with a median level of trust. After thoroughness of the physical examination and integration of care, knowledge of the patient, trust and interpersonal care were the defining elements strongly correlated with improved health outcomes. Simply stated, a satisfied patient trusts his or her physician and in turn, is more likely to follow the physician’s advice, resulting in a better care outcome for that patient.

Additionally, some well designed studies strongly link healthcare costs to the quality of the patient-physician relationship. Patient-centered communication is a style that rests on the four tenets discussed earlier. Those with a greater measure of patient centered communication had less diagnostic healthcare expenditures, resulting in less total dollar costs of diagnostic testing, ambulatory and hospital care.  The corollary was also true: physicians with a lower measure of patient centered communication had greater expenditures.    In other words, a strong patient-physician bond means lower diagnostic healthcare costs due to improved communication between the patient and the physician.