Perceptions of Doctors’ Empathy and Patients’ Subjective Health Status at an Online Clinic: Development of an Empathic Anamnesis Questionnaire

This study investigates whether patients’ evaluations of doctors’ empathy are associated with their health perceptions after a meeting at an online clinic and whether experiences of empathy could be enhanced by augmenting an automated anamnesis questionnaire completed before the visit.

Methods

A total of 209 adult patients agreed to participate in the study. First 103 patients filled out the regular version of the questionnaire (June–August 2019) and then 106 filled out the augmented version of the online anamnesis questionnaire (August–November 2019). Patients’ perceptions of doctors’ empathy were measured with the Consultation and Relational Empathy questionnaire. Patients’ self-perceived health status, potential confounders, and demographic background information were measured via questionnaires.

Results

Patients’ perceptions of doctors’ empathy during a chat-based encounter were associated with patients being less concerned about their symptoms (estimated odds ratios varied between 0.45 and 0.55 depending on the model, p values

Source: Psychosomatic Medicine - May 1, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLES Source Type: research