"I try to connect with them on something": A Qualitative Study of Patient-Centered Care From the Doctor's Perspective

In today’s world, successful health care and patient satisfaction is not only dependent on the medical treatment patient’s receive, but also the relationship and communication that takes place between the patient and physician. Patient’s value when physicians are communicative, caring, and treat the patient as an equal. Patient-Centered Care (PCC) addresses this by helping ensure both the physician’s and patient’s needs are met. PCC creates effective communication and results in better overall health outcomes for patients. Therefore, this study examined the communicative behaviors and practices that physicians use to implement PCC, specifically seeking to understand (a) the communicative strategies that participants implement when communicating with their patients and (b) the barriers preventing these strategies from taking place. The study used in-person, semi-structured interviews to elicit personal experiences from participants. Based on responses from nine physicians, participants utilized proxemics, connection, transparency, empathy, and patient involvement when fostering relationships with their patients. All participants expressed similar barriers that prevent the use of these communicative strategies, describing both systematic barriers and patient-related barriers. The implications of this study could provide the basis needed for a more widespread approach to PCC by reducing the barriers that physician’s experience whencommunicating with their patient.