Effects of Physicians' Information Giving on Patient Outcomes: a Systematic Review

Which clinician responses to emotion are associated with more positive patient experiences of communication?

OBJECTIVES

To identify communication strategies that may improve clinician-patient interactions, we assessed the association between clinician response to emotion and patient ratings of communication.

METHODS

From a cohort of 1817 clinician-patient encounters, we designed a retrospective case-control study by identifying 69 patients who rated their interpersonal care as low-quality and 69 patients who rated their care as high-quality. We used the Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES) to identify patient emotional expressions and clinician responses. Using mixed-effects logistic regression, we evaluated the association between clinician responses to patients' emotions and patient ratings of their interpersonal care.

RESULTS

In adjusted analyses, explicit responses that reduced space for further emotional communication were associated with high ratings of care (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.25, 2.99); non-explicit responses providing additional space were associated with low ratings (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.36-0.82). In terms of specific response types, neutral/passive responses were associated with low ratings (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.39-0.90), whereas giving information/advice was associated with high ratings (OR, 95% 1.91 CI 1.17-3.1).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients may prefer responses to their expressed emotions that demonstrate clinician engagement, with or without expressions of empathy.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

These findings may inform educational interventions to improve clinician-patient communication.

Continuous Quality Improvement: Utilizing a Novel Education Platform to Enhance Care for the Caregiver in the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit

Background: Timely patient and family communication is fundamental to the delivery of patient and family-centered care in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, repetitive, non-urgent communication with patients and designated patient contacts (DPCs) may lead to workflow disruptions, patient safety concerns and burnout. Implementing media-rich, educational content via a web-app could promote a more communication-friendly environment and reduce redundant communication. This may lower workflow disruptions and save time for more meaningful interactions with providers. The goal of this study was to deliver relevant, high-quality content via a web-app, assess time savings, and patient satisfaction with the web-app. Methods: A pre-implementation survey was distributed to Neurosciences intensive care unit (NSICU) staff to assess the burden of repetitive non-urgent communication and perceived duration of disruptions. Patients admitted to the NSICU from September 2022 to February 2023, n = 221 were included in the study. Patients were enrolled in the web-app. Patients and their DPC were granted access. Demographics including patient diagnosis, age, gender, and race were collected, along with data on weekly patient enrollment, number of DPCs granted access, total, frequency, and average view times of each piece of web-app content, and expected time saved due to review of web-app-based content by patient and/or DPCs to reduce repetitive communication by NSICU caregivers. The time saved for each piece of web-app content was calculated after getting feedback from providers (attendings, fellows, advanced practice providers, nurses) for how long it generally took them to convey each piece of information to patients and families. Results: Based on web-app content reviewed by patients and/or DPCs, the estimated average amount of NSICU caregiver time saved over the study period, based on application content views, was 82 min per week, and the cumulative total provider time saved for all content views was 26 h and 53 min. Twenty-one of 59 applications were rated by patients or their DPC and received five-star reviews (out of 5). Conclusion: The implementation of a web-app to facilitate and increase efficiency in communication leads to time savings for NSICU providers and patient/DPC satisfaction with the media-rich educational content.

Disclosing Results of Tests for Covert Consciousness: A Framework for Ethical Translation

The advent of neurotechnologies including advanced functional magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography to detect states of awareness not detectable by traditional bedside neurobehavioral techniques (i.e., covert consciousness) promises to transform neuroscience research and clinical practice for patients with brain injury. As these interventions progress from research tools into actionable, guideline-endorsed clinical tests, ethical guidance for clinicians on how to responsibly communicate the sensitive results they yield is crucial yet remains underdeveloped. Drawing on insights from empirical and theoretical neuroethics research and our clinical experience with advanced neurotechnologies to detect consciousness in behaviorally unresponsive patients, we critically evaluate ethical promises and perils associated with disclosing the results of clinical covert consciousness assessments and describe a semistructured approach to responsible data sharing to mitigate potential risks.

Wall-mounted folding chairs to promote resident physician sitting at the hospital bedside

BACKGROUND

Sitting at the bedside may improve patient-clinician communication; however, many clinicians do not regularly sit during inpatient encounters.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the impact of adding wall-mounted folding chairs inside patient rooms, beyond any impact from a resident education campaign, on the patient-reported frequency of sitting at the bedside by internal medicine resident physicians.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

Prospective, controlled pre-post trial between 2019 and 2022 (data collection paused 2020-2021 due to COVID-19) at an academic hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Folding chairs were installed in two of four internal medicine units and educational activities were delivered equally across all units.

MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES

Patient-reported frequency of sitting at bedside, assessed as means on Likert-type items with 1 being "never" and 5 being "every single time." We also examined the frequency of other patient-reported communication behaviors.

RESULTS

Two hundred fifty six and 206 patients enrolled in the pre and post-intervention periods, respectively. The mean frequency of patient-reported sitting by resident physicians increased from 1.8 (SD 1.2) to 2.3 (1.2) on education-only units (absolute difference 0.48 [95% CI: 0.21-0.75]) and from 2.0 (1.3) to 3.2 (1.4) on units receiving chairs (1.16, [0.87-1.45]). Comparing differences between groups using ordered logistic regression adjusting for clustering within residents, units with added chairs had greater increases in sitting (odds ratio 2.05 [1.10-3.82]), spending enough time at the bedside (2.43 [1.32-4.49]), and checking for understanding (3.04 [1.44-6.39]). Improvements in sitting and other behaviors were sustained on both types of units.

CONCLUSIONS

Adding wall-mounted folding chairs may help promote effective patient-clinician communication.

The Development and Use of a New Visual Tool (REVISIT) to Support Participant Recall: Web-Based Interview Study Among Older Adults

BACKGROUND

Qualitative health services research often relies on semistructured or in-depth interviews to develop a deeper understanding of patient experiences, motivations, and perspectives. The quality of data gathered is contingent upon a patient's recall capacity; yet, studies have shown that recall of medical information is low. Threats to generating rich and detailed interview data may be more prevalent when interviewing older adults.

OBJECTIVE

We developed and studied the feasibility of using a tool, Remembering Healthcare Encounters Visually and Interactively (REVISIT), which has been created to aid the recall of a specific telemedicine encounter to provide health services research teams with a visual tool, to improve qualitative interviews with older adults.

METHODS

The REVISIT visual appointment summary was developed to facilitate web-based interviews with our participants as part of an evaluation of a geriatric telemedicine program. Our primary aims were to aid participant recall, maintain focus on the index visit, and establish a shared understanding of the visit between participants and interviewers. The authors' experiences and observations developing REVISIT and using it during videoconference interviews (N=16) were systematically documented and synthesized. We discuss these experiences with REVISIT and suggest considerations for broader implementation and future research to expand upon this preliminary work.

RESULTS

REVISIT enhanced the interview process by providing a focus and catalyst for discussion and supporting rapport-building with participants. REVISIT appeared to support older patients' and caregivers' recollection of a clinical visit, helping them to share additional details about their experience. REVISIT was difficult to read for some participants, however, and could not be used for phone interviews.

CONCLUSIONS

REVISIT is a promising tool to enhance the quality of data collected during interviews with older, rural adults and caregivers about a health care encounter. This novel tool may aid recall of health care experiences for those groups for whom it may be more challenging to collect accurate, rich qualitative data (eg, those with cognitive impairment or complex medical care), allowing health services research to include more diverse patient experiences.

Perceived social support among percutaneous coronary intervention patients over a long-term follow-up period

AIM

To investigate perceived social support and the associated factors as well as the sources of social support among post-percutaneous intervention patients over a long-term follow-up period.

DESIGN

An explanatory and descriptive survey with a six-year follow-up (STROBE Statement: Supplementary file 1).

METHODS

Baseline data (n = 416) were collected from Finnish patients in 2013, with follow-up data collected from the same study group in 2019 (n = 154). The research employed the Social Support of Patients with Coronary Heart Disease self-reported questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate methods.

RESULTS

In the acute phase, higher informational support was associated with lower LDL cholesterol and female gender and higher emotional support with working status. In long-term follow-up period, physical activity, younger age, normal cholesterol levels and previous percutaneous coronary intervention predicted higher informational support, regular participation in follow-up sessions and relationship status predicted higher emotional support, and previous coronary artery bypass grafting, smoking, alcohol consumption, normal cholesterol and regular follow-ups predicted higher functional support.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No Patient or Public Contribution.

How Do Physicians Frame Medical Information in Talks With Their Patients? An Inductive Microanalysis

During medical consultations, physicians need to share a substantial amount of information with their patients. How this information is framed can be crucial for patient understanding and outcomes, but little is known about the details of how physicians frame information in practice. Using an inductive microanalysis approach in the study of videotaped medical interactions, we aimed to identify the information frames (i.e., higher-level ways of organizing and structuring information to reach a particular purpose) and the information-framing devices (i.e., any dialogic mechanism used to present information in a particular way that shapes how the patient might perceive and interpret it) physicians use spontaneously and intuitively while sharing information with their patients. We identified 66 different information-framing devices acting within nine information frames conveying: (1) Do we agree that we share this knowledge?, (2) I don't like where I (or where you are) am going with this, (3) This may be tricky to understand, (4) You may need to think, (5) This is important, (6) This is not important, (7) This comes from me as a doctor, (8) This comes from me as a person, and (9) This is directed to you as a unique person. The kaleidoscope of information-framing devices described in this study reveals the near impossibility for neutrality and objectivity in the information-sharing practice of medical care. It also represents an inductively derived starting point for further research into aspects of physicians' information-sharing praxis.

The Social Context: Social and Behavioral Factors That Affect Health Outcomes

To achieve understanding and best care, screening and treating patients should consider the patient's social environment. Social and behavioral factors influence both positive and negative health behaviors that influence mental and physical health. Primary care providers continually navigate barriers faced by patients and seek solutions that take into consideration social and behavioral factors. The role of the PCP begins with an understanding of common barriers and community resources, then by assessing and responding to the patient's own challenges, and finally by advocating in the clinic and public for changes to the underlying social and structural causes of morbidity and mortality.

Inpatients' information needs about medication: A narrative systematic literature review

OBJECTIVE

To provide an overview of inpatients' information needs about medication, including the best moment to provide this information, how, by whom and what patient characteristics influence these needs.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted. Studies that reported the information needs from inpatients about medication were included from Medline and Embase. The Crowe critical appraisal tool (CCAT) was used to assess the quality of the studies.

RESULTS

Initially, 710 records were retrieved from Medline and Embase. After the forward search, another 609 records were screened and in total, 26 articles were included. The CCAT scores ranged from 17 to 34 points on a 40 point scale and two articles received 0 points.

CONCLUSION

Inpatients main needs about medicine information are information about adverse and beneficial effects of medication, and general rules about how to take medication. Preferably, this information is printed and provided at the time of prescribing by a physician that already has a relationship with the patient. The most recent studies show that patients are open to the use of modern technology.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

This review provides a starting point for providing medicine information to inpatients. Further research should focus on patient characteristics influencing these information needs.

Lessons learned from examination of Canadian medico-legal cases related to interventional therapies for chronic pain management

PURPOSE

Chronic pain is a common condition affecting almost one in five Canadians. One of the methods used to treat chronic pain is injection therapies. While they are considered relatively safe procedures, they do carry inherent risk that can result in adverse events. Our goal was to investigate these patient safety events to identify themes that could be used to shape practice guidelines and standards and improve patient safety.

METHODS

We looked at closed civil legal actions and regulatory college complaints associated with injection therapies for chronic pain in the Canadian Medical Protection Association database from 2015 to 2019. Injury was defined as that arising from, or associated with, plans or actions taken during the provision of health care, rather than an underlying disease or injury.

RESULTS

Of the 91 cases identified, the most common reported complications were neurologic-related symptoms, injury, and infection. Fifty-eight percent (53/91) of patients experienced health care-related harm that had a negative effect on their health or quality of life. Peer experts were critical of the clinical care provided in 74% (67/91) of the cases. Provider-related (60%, 40/67), team-related (75%, 50/67), and system-related factors (21%, 14/67) were identified as contributing factors in these cases. Common examples of provider-related factors were deficiencies in clinical decision-making (48%, 19/40), failure to follow established procedures (43%, 17/40), and situational awareness (38%, 15/40). Common examples of team-related factors were deficiencies in medical record keeping (80%, 40/50) and communication breakdowns (56%, 28/50). All system-related factors were related to inadequate office procedures.

CONCLUSION

We recommend that clinicians conduct appropriate physical examinations, keep up-to-date with clinical standards, and ensure their documentation reflects their assessment, the patient's condition, and the treatment rationale.

Health Communication Research Informs Inflammatory Bowel Disease Practice and Research: A Narrative Review

Background

In the absence of targeted empirical evidence on effective clinical communication in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a broad overview of existing evidence on effective communication in healthcare and available recommendations for communication in telehealth is provided and mapped onto IBD research and practice.

Methods

A narrative literature review was conducted using Pubmed and Scopus databases and snowballing literature search.

Results

Evidence-based relationship building strategies include communicating emotions, acknowledging and addressing patients' hesitancy, and ensuring continued support. A particular recommendation regarding telehealth interaction is to avoid long stretches of talk. Effective informational strategies include facilitating and supporting information exchange and considering patients' preferences in decision-making. In teleconsultations, clinicians should ask direct questions about patients' emotional state, clarify their understanding of patients' concerns and check patients' understanding, address at least one patient-reported outcome when discussing the recommended treatment, and shorten the consultation where possible. Strategies for maximizing effective clinical communication in the spoken communicative mode include using infographics and simple language, and assessing adherence at the beginning of the consultation. For teleconsultations, clinicians are advised to allow patients to explain the reason for their call at the beginning of the teleconsultation, probe additional concerns early and before ending the teleconsultation, and be mindful of technical issues such as voice delays.

Conclusions

Use of question prompt lists, decision aids, micro-lessons, and communication training interventions for clinicians could be beneficial in IBD care. Further research into the implementation of such interventions as well as clinical communication concerns specific to IBD is warranted.

What does shared decision making ask from doctors? Uncovering suppressed qualities that could improve person-centered care

OBJECTIVE

Shared decision making (SDM) is infrequently seen in clinical practice despite four decades of efforts. We propose a need to explore what SDM asks from doctors in terms of enabling competencies and necessary, underlying qualities, and how these can be nurtured or suppressed in medical training.

DISCUSSION

Key SDM tasks call for doctors to understand communication and decision mechanisms to carry them out well, including reflecting on what they know and do not know, considering what to say and how, and listening unprejudiced to patients. Different doctor qualities can support accomplishing these tasks; humility, flexibility, honesty, fairness, self-regulation, curiosity, compassion, judgment, creativity, and courage, all relevant to deliberation and decision making. Patient deference to doctors, lack of supervised training opportunities with professional feedback, and high demands in the work environment may all inflate the risk of only superficially involving patients.

CONCLUSIONS

We have identified ten professional qualities and related competencies required for SDM, with each to be selected based on the specific situation. The competencies and qualities need to be preserved and nurtured during doctor identity building, to bridge the gap between knowledge, technical skills, and authentic efforts to achieve SDM.

Using motivational interviewing and brief action planning for adopting and maintaining positive health behaviors

Lifestyle medicine practice can be enhanced with interpersonal communication skills to help patients adopt and maintain positive health behaviors, such as improving diet or initiating exercise. We review two approaches that incorporate evidenced-based skills for this purpose: motivational interviewing and brief action planning (BAP). Motivational interviewing involves four processes conducted in a climate of compassion, acceptance, partnership, and empowerment. First, "engaging" (or connecting) with patients uses "relational" skills of active listening and empathic communication. Second, "focusing" elicits patients' full spectrum of concerns, expectations, and desires to negotiate a collaborative agenda. Third, "evoking motivation," utilizes uniquely innovative skills (e.g., "softening sustain talk" and "cultivating change talk") to increase intrinsic motivation of patients with ambivalence (or resistance) to become more open to choosing healthier behaviors for themselves. Fourth, "planning for change," uses collaborative goal-setting skills to help patients specify concrete action plans for health. To this end, brief action planning (BAP) has been developed as a specific pragmatic algorithmic approach, utilizing collaborative "SMART" (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based) action planning, encouragement of patient commitment statements, scaling for confidence, problem-solving to reduce barriers for change, fostering patient accountability, and emphasizing follow-up. BAP can be introduced at any point in a patient encounter when patients are ready or nearly ready for change.

Understanding Fear after an Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis Using the Common-Sense Model

Fear is a significant factor affecting successful return to sport following an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. However, there is a lack of understanding of the emotional drivers of fear and how fear beliefs are formed. This study qualitatively explored the contextual and emotional underpinnings of fear and how these beliefs were formed, with reference to the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation. Face-to-face online interviews were conducted with ACL-injured participants (n = 18, 72% female) with a mean age of 28 years (range 18-50 years). Participants were either 1 year post ACL reconstruction surgery (n = 16) or at least 1 year post injury without surgery (n = 2) and scored above average on a modified Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia. Four participants were playing state-level sport or higher. Five themes emerged describing factors contributing to fear: 'External messages', 'Difficulty of the ACL rehabilitation journey', 'Threat to identity and independence', 'Socioeconomic factors', and 'Ongoing psychological barriers'. A sixth theme, 'Positive coping strategies', provided insight into influences that could reduce fear and resolve negative behaviors. This study identified a broad range of contextual biopsychosocial factors which contribute to fear, supporting the notion that ACL injuries should not be treated through a purely physical lens. Furthermore, aligning the themes to the common-sense model provided a conceptual framework conveying the inter-related, emergent nature of the identified themes. The framework provides clinicians with a means to understanding fear after an ACL injury. This could guide assessment and patient education.

Barriers of physician-patient relationships in professionalism: A qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Undoubtedly, there are several obstacles in the path of medical professionalism. This study examines these obstacles in the relationship between physician and patient. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the barriers of physician-patient relationships in professionalism based on physician experiences.

METHODS

It was a qualitative study with a conventional content analysis approach. Our participants were 14 patients and 11 physicians. The sampling method was purposive, and data was collected through semi-structured interviews and field notes. Interviews continued until data saturation.

RESULTS

Findings of the study regarding barriers of patient-physician relationship were classified into five main categories: misperception of the physician's identity, unprofessional behavior of the physician, physician's sense of self-superiority, patients' cultural differences, and lack of supportive services in the health care system.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed that the communication challenges between physician and patient were not limited to the physicians' education. Part of these challenges depends on the patients and their culture. Another part of these challenges is directly related to the medical and management system structure.