Abstract
Since physician–patient relationships are a central part of the medical practice, it is essential to understand whether physicians and the general public share the same perspective on traits defining a “good doctor”. Our study compared the perceptions of physicians and members of the public on the essential traits of a “good doctor.” We conducted parallel surveys of 1000 practicing specialist-physicians, and 500 members of the public in Israel. Respondents were asked about the two most important attributes of a “good doctor” and whether they thought the physicians’ role was to reduce health disparities. Many physicians (56%) and members of the public (48%) reported that the role of physicians includes helping to reduce health disparities. Physicians emphasized the importance of non-technical skills such as humaneness and concern for patients as important traits of a “good doctor,” while the public emphasized professional and technical skills. Internal medicine physicians were more likely than surgeons to emphasize humaneness, empathy, and professionalism. Future research should focus on actionable approaches to bridge the gap in the perceptions between the groups, and that may support the formation of caring physicians embedded in a complex array of relationships within clinical and community contexts.
Highlights
Since physician–patient relationships are a central part of the medical practice, it is essential to understand whether physicians and the general public share the same perspective on traits defining a “good doctor”
A 1984 Journal of the American Medical Association article found that 47% of patients prefer their doctor to make decisions regarding medical issues [3]
The survey organization that completed the fieldwork (Dialogue—Organizational Consulting, Research and Training Ltd.) used a sample of specialist-physicians registered with the Israeli Medical Association (IMA), stratified according to their medical school training, which was found to affect physicians’ attitudes about their roles in a prior study
Summary
Since physician–patient relationships are a central part of the medical practice, it is essential to understand whether physicians and the general public share the same perspective on traits defining a “good doctor”. Physicians emphasized the importance of non-technical skills such as humaneness and concern for patients as important traits of a “good doctor,” while the public emphasized professional and technical skills. Physicians were honored and perceived as having divine virtues [1] Their recommendations were accepted as if they were “the word of God” [2]. Criticism of this paternalist approach to medical care, along with legislations protecting patients’ rights, led to a conceptual shift and the formation of a new approach: patient-centered care. This approach places patients and their problems and desires at the core of the encounter [4]
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