Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Developing Relationships: Building Patient Relationships

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Building a Clinical Practice

Part of the book series: Success in Academic Surgery ((SIAS))

  • 495 Accesses

Abstract

Building patient relationships is a key component of clinical practice. Good provider-patient relationships can improve patient outcomes, enhance compliance, and decrease the potential for medico-legal action after adverse events. Surgeon-patient relationships inherently require a high degree of trust. Strong communication and setting clear expectations can help optimize surgical care, and assist in building a clinical practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Leibowitz KA, Hardebeck EJ, Goyer JP, Crum AJ. Physician assurance reduces patient symptoms in US adults: an experimental study. J Gen Intern Med. 2018;33(12):2051–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Schleiter KE. Difficult patient-physician relationships and the risk of medical malpractice litigation. Virtual Mentor. 2009;11(3):242–6.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Kelley JM, Kraft-Todd G, Schapira L, Kossowsky J, Riess H. The influence of the patient-clinician relationship on healthcare outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS One. 2014;9(4):e94207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. American Medical Association. Code of medical ethics of the American Medical Association. Chicago: American Medical Association Press; 1847.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Beauchamp TL, Childress JF. Principles of biomedical ethics. 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  6. American Medical Association. Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. Fundamental elements of the patient-physician relationship. JAMA. 1990;264(24):3133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Axelrod DA, Goold SD. Maintaining trust in the surgeon-patient relationship: challenges for the new millennium. Arch Surg. 2000;135(1):55–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Nabozny MJ, Kruser JM, Steffens NM, Pecanac KE, Brasel KJ, Chittenden EH, et al. Patient-reported limitations to surgical buy-in: a qualitative study of patients facing high-risk surgery. Ann Surg. 2017;265(1):97–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Nabozny MJ, Kruser JM, Steffens NM, Brasel KJ, Campbell TC, Gaines ME, et al. Constructing high-stakes surgical decisions: it’s better to die trying. Ann Surg. 2016;263(1):64–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kwok AC, Semel ME, Lipsitz SR, Bader AM, Barnato AE, Gawande AA, et al. The intensity and variation of surgical care at the end of life: a retrospective cohort study. Lancet. 2011;378(9800):1408–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Skowron KB, Angelos P. Surgical informed consent revisited: time to revise the routine? World J Surg. 2017;41(1):1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Taylor LJ, Nabozny MJ, Steffens NM, Tucholka JL, Brasel KJ, Johnson SK, et al. A framework to improve surgeon communication in high-stakes surgical decisions: best case/worst case. JAMA Surg. 2017;152(6):531–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Kruser JM, Nabozny MJ, Steffens NM, Brasel KJ, Campbell TC, Gaines ME, et al. “Best case/worst case”: qualitative evaluation of a novel communication tool for difficult in-the-moment surgical decisions. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015;63(9):1805–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kruser JM, Taylor LJ, Campbell TC, Zelenski A, Johnson SK, Nabozny MJ, et al. “Best case/worst case”: training surgeons to use a novel communication tool for high-risk acute surgical problems. J Pain Symptom Manag. 2017;53(4):711–9.e5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Travaline JM, Ruchinskas R, D’Alonzo GE Jr. Patient-physician communication: why and how. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2005;105(1):13–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Ha JF, Longnecker N. Doctor-patient communication: a review. Ochsner J. 2010;10(1):38–43.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. King A, Hoppe RB. “Best practice” for patient-centered communication: a narrative review. J Grad Med Educ. 2013;5(3):385–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Boissy A, Windover AK, Bokar D, Karafa M, Neuendorf K, Frankel RM, et al. Communication skills training for physicians improves patient satisfaction. J Gen Intern Med. 2016;31(7):755–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Freundlich RE, Freundlich KL, Drolet BC. Pagers, smartphones, and HIPAA: finding the best solution for electronic communication of protected health information. J Med Syst. 2017;42(1):9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Gostin LO, Halabi SF, Wilson K. Health data and privacy in the digital era. JAMA. 2018;320(3):233–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Robinson JR, Valentine A, Carney C, Fabbri D, Jackson GP. Complexity of medical decision-making in care provided by surgeons through patient portals. J Surg Res. 2017;214:93–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Perna G. Getting out of the compliance mindset: doing more with data security. Leading healthcare organizations have tackled the growing issue of data security through different technologies. Healthc Inform. 2013;30(8):22–4.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Gunter RL, Chouinard S, Fernandes-Taylor S, Wiseman JT, Clarkson S, Bennett K, et al. Current use of telemedicine for post-discharge surgical care: a systematic review. J Am Coll Surg. 2016;222(5):915–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Nikolian VC, Williams AM, Jacobs BN, Kemp MT, Wilson JK, Mulholland MW, et al. Pilot study to evaluate the safety, feasibility, and financial implications of a postoperative telemedicine program. Ann Surg. 2018;268(4):700–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Lee JL, Dy SM, Kravet SJ, Ashar BH, Nesson T, Wu AW. Patient satisfaction and provider use of electronic communication: a cross-sectional analysis. Eur J Pers Cent Healthc. 2017;5(4):441–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Chin KR, Adams SB Jr, Khoury L, Zurakowski D. Patient behavior if given their surgeon’s cellular telephone number. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2005;439:260–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Hanauer DA, Zheng K, Singer DC, Gebremariam A, Davis MM. Public awareness, perception, and use of online physician rating sites. JAMA. 2014;311(7):734–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Ziemba JB, Allaf ME, Haldeman D. Consumer preferences and online comparison tools used to select a surgeon. JAMA Surg. 2017;152(4):410–1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Mulsow JJ, Feeley TM, Tierney S. Beyond consent—improving understanding in surgical patients. Am J Surg. 2012;203(1):112–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Kriwanek S, Armbruster C, Beckerhinn P, Blauensteier W, Gschwantler M. Patients’ assessment and recall of surgical information after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Dig Surg. 1998;15(6):669–73.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Wu AW. Medical error: the second victim. The doctor who makes the mistake needs help too. BMJ. 2000;320(7237):726–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Bohnen JD, Lillemoe KD, Mort EA, Kaafarani HMA. When things go wrong: the surgeon as second victim. Ann Surg. 2019;269(5):808–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Heather Wachtel & Rachel R. Kelz

Authors
  1. Heather Wachtel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rachel R. Kelz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachel R. Kelz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Tracy S. Wang

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Adam W. Beck

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Wachtel, H., Kelz, R.R. (2020). Developing Relationships: Building Patient Relationships. In: Wang, T., Beck, A. (eds) Building a Clinical Practice. Success in Academic Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29271-3_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29271-3_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-29270-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-29271-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation