title: Physician empathy and subjective evaluation of medical treatment outcome in trauma surgery patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze whether patients' perception of their medical treatment outcome is higher among patients who experienced a higher empathy by trauma surgeons during their stay in hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  127 patients were surveyed six weeks after discharge from the trauma surgical general ward. Subjective evaluation of medical treatment outcome was measured with the corresponding scale from the Cologne Patient Questionnaire. Clinical empathy was assessed by using the CARE measure. The influence of physician empathy and control variables on a dichotomized index of subjective evaluation of medical treatment outcome was identified with a logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  120 patients were included in the logistic regression analysis. Compared to patients with physician empathy ratings of less than 30 points, patients with ratings of 41 points or higher have a 20-fold higher probability to be in the group with a better medical treatment outcome on the CPQ-scale (α-level<.001, R(2) 46.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings emphasize the importance of a well-functioning relationship between physician and patient even in a surgical setting where the focus is mostly on the bare medical treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Communication trainings i.e. in surgical education can be an effective way to improve the ability to show empathy with patients' concerns.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), Witten/Herdecke University, Campus Cologne-Merheim, Germany. Electronic address: simone.steinhausen@uni-wh.de.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinhausen
authors.affiliation: Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ommen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR), Faculty of Human Science and Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thüm
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), Witten/Herdecke University, Campus Cologne-Merheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lefering
authors.affiliation: infas, Institute for Applied Social Sciences, Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM), Witten/Herdecke University, Campus Cologne-Merheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Edmund
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Neugebauer
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR), Faculty of Human Science and Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pfaff
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003142:Communication; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D066231:Surgeons; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014193:Trauma Centers; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Communication; Empathy; Medical treatment outcome; Patient satisfaction; Patient-reported outcome; Physician–patient interaction; Surgery