Patients, Doctors Strongly Support Compassionate Healthcare

Last week I posed the question, "How important is compassionate healthcare to patients and physicians?" This week I've got some answers based on a national poll of patients and doctors:

The vast majority of patients and doctors believe that not only does compassionate healthcare make a difference in how well patients recover from illness, it can even make a difference in whether a patient lives or dies.

However, when asked whether the U.S. healthcare system provides compassionate care, only 53% of patients and 58% of doctors said that it does. Looking to the future, 67% of patients and 55% of doctors said they are concerned that the changes taking place in our healthcare system will make it more difficult for caregivers to provide compassionate care.

Among patients, 84% agreed that compassionate healthcare makes a difference in how well patients recover from illness, while 81% of doctors also agreed with this statement More surprisingly, 81% of patients and 71% of doctors said they believe that good communication and emotional support - the essential elements of compassionate healthcare - can even make a difference in whether a patient lives or dies.

We have known for a long time that when caregivers show compassion to their patients, patients are more hopeful, more motivated to follow treatment plans and less likely to file medical malpractice claims. However, we also know that the patients caregiver relationship is under increasing strain. What this survey tells is that while we work to transform healthcare and reduce costs, we must not lose sight of the importance of empathy and compassionate care to quality of care and the healing process.

The Schwartz Center survey was conducted by Marttila Strategies and Braun Research from September 23-October 10 among 800 patients who had been hospitalized for at least three days within the past 18 months and 500 physicians who spend at least some of their time taking care of hospitalized patients. Excluded from the survey were women with uncomplicated pregnancies and children 18 years of age and younger. The complete survey results, including the themes from a panel discussion, will be available in a forthcoming whitepaper available on our website.