Patients' Perspectives on Ideal Physician Behaviors
- Neeli M. Bendapudi, PhD,
- Leonard L. Berry, PhD,
- Keith A. Frey, MD, MBA,
- Janet Turner Parish, PhD and
- William L. Rayburn, MD
- From the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (N.M.B.); Mays Business School, TAMU System Health Science Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex (L.L.B.); Department of Family Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Scottsdale, Ariz (K.A.F.); Mays Business School, Texas A&M University (J.T.P.); and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Texas A&M University Health Science Center and Scott & White Clinic, College Station, Tex (W.L.R.)
- Address reprint requests and correspondence to Leonard L. Berry, PhD, Mays Business School, Texas A&M University, 4112 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4112 (e-mail: BerryLe{at}tamu.edu).
Abstract
We incorporated the views of patients to develop a comprehensive set of ideal physician behaviors. Telephone interviews were conducted in 2001 and 2002 with a random sample of 192 patients who were seen in 14 different medical specialties of Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz, and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Interviews focused on the physician-patient relationship and lasted between 20 and 50 minutes. Patients were asked to describe their best and worst experiences with a physician in the Mayo Clinic system and to give specifics of the encounter. The interviewers independently generated and validated 7 ideal behavioral themes that emerged from the interview transcripts. The ideal physician is confident, empathetic, humane, personal, forthright, respectful, and thorough. Ways that physicians can incorporate clues to the 7 ideal physician behaviors to create positive relationships with patients are suggested.
Footnotes
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Direct research expenses for this study were provided by Mayo Foundation.
- © 2006 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
