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diabetes doctor patient relationship health patient care patients

Matters of empathy

While I don’t know much about diabetes, I believe that any chronic illness and the care required of it demands empathy from all involved — most importantly the primary physician. In September, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) posted a study out of Parma, Italy which looked at nearly 21,000 diabetes patients. 242 doctors in the study were tested for empathy via a questionnaire.

Here is the really amazing part: the rate of complications for patients with highly empathic doctors was nearly 2/3 of those with less empathic doctors. “Although empathic engagement is important in patient care regardless of physicians’ specialty, it is more critical in the primary care setting, which requires long-term physician–patient encounters and continuity of care.” —Academic Medicine, September 2012

There is something nice about knowing that bedside manner matters as much as I’d always assumed. The New York Times Nicholas Bakalar did a great short piece on the study here too.

(Thanks Julie for pointing me to this study!)

Photo by Christiana Care / Creative Commons