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What Are The Qualities Of A Good Physician?
http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/3-2006/what-are-the-qualities-of-a-good-physician.html
A study of Mayo Clinic patients
has found seven behaviors define the 'ideal' doctor
and supports an Institute of Medicine recommendation that
quality medical care should include a patient-centered approach.
The Mayo Clinic-led study was designed to develop
a comprehensive set of ideal doctor behaviors.
Telephone interviews were conducted in 2001 and 2002 with 192 patients
who were seen in 14 medical specialties of Mayo Clinic
in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Rochester.
Reported in the recent issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings,
the article was based on transcripts of patients
detailing their best and worst experiences with a Mayo Clinic physician.
From the transcripts, study authors identified seven behaviors that
describe the ideal doctor
-- confident, empathetic, humane, personal,
forthright, respectful and thorough.
Conversely, patients who described a "worst physician"
experience focused on traits reflecting opposites of desired doctor behaviors,
particularly perceived insensitive or disrespectful behavior.
The study suggests that training new and practicing physicians
about interpersonal skills could have far-reaching effects for patients.
The quality of a patient's relationship with a doctor can affect
not only a patient's emotional responses,
but also behavioral and medical outcomes
such as compliance and recovery.
An editorial in the same issue expands on the patient-doctor relationship,
saying health institutions ought to follow the recommendations of
the Institute of Medicine to improve quality by
fostering a patient-centeredness approach to medicine.
James Li, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Division of Allergic Diseases,
writes in an editorial that health care can't meet a standard of quality
if the patient-doctor interaction is hurried, disrespectful, cold or callous.
Dr. Li has been involved with developing programs and curricula
for teaching new and practicing physicians at Mayo Clinic
about how to strengthen their interactions with patients.
Mayo's structure of focusing on the patient also helps
nurture strong relationships between doctor and patient, he says.
"A doctor who pays personal attention to the patient,
who is respectful, compassionate and competent,
that's what every patient wants,"
Dr. Li says.
"It's really the duty and obligation of the medical community
to design a health care system so that
physicians are best able to exhibit those qualities
for the good of the patient during the clinical encounter."
Dr. Li notes the seven behavioral traits identified by scientists
as ideal for physicians can be taught in various settings,
such as having medical residents witness positive interactions
which they can model.
Of the seven behavior traits, "thorough" was named most often by patients.
Patients can sense if a doctor is rushed or preoccupied,
the study's authors say,
just as they can sense a physician's genuine interest.
