"Bedside Manner" Can Make or Break Health

How a doctor interacts with his patients on a social level can have an impact on thier patient's overall health, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS One, details the results of a comprehensive review of past research and investigates the importance of what many call "bedside manner."

Bedside manner -- the people skills of a doctor -- is supposed to help patients be at ease when being treated for an illness. Doctors with excellent bedside manner can not only help relive the anxiety of their patients, but they may also help patients feel like people, and not just a thing that needs fixing. Efficient bedside manner has been theorized to even help patients trust their physicians more, ensuring a smooth and worry-free hospital stay.

However, this recent research suggests that excellent bedside manner can be even more beneficial, potentially improving the health and recovery rate of patients.

In a comprehensive review of 13 clinical trials, researchers found that the patients of doctors who have been trained to promote a stronger doctor-patient relationship typically fared better in managing weight, cardiovascular health, and even pain.

Among the 13 clinical trials selected, doctors were randomly chosen to continue treatment as that had been at the start of the trial, or to revive training to improve their interaction with a patient. All doctors were treating patients who required health improvement that could be statistically measured, such as weight loss, blood pressure reduction, or pain management.

According to the study, in most trials, though not all, the patients of doctors who were trained to improve their bedside manner saw more success in their treatments, compared to patients whose doctors did not improve their manner.

Although completing, the authors of the study admit that the improvement seen was only very slight, indicating that while bedside manner appears to be important to patient health, adequate treatment is still the most important factor.

The study was published in PLOS One on April 9.