Interventions that strengthen the patient-clinician relationship improve healthcare outcomes: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
David P Neal, Bridget A Nestor, Camille Archer et al.
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In 30 seconds
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated clinician-focused interventions aimed at strengthening patient-clinician relationships across 28 randomized controlled trials involving 18,046 patients. The findings indicate that these interventions significantly improve healthcare outcomes, with a standardized mean difference of 0.223 (95% CI: 0.071-0.376, p = 0.004) compared to controls.
Key findings
- Interventions improved healthcare outcomes with a standardized mean difference of 0.223.
- The analysis included 28 randomized controlled trials with 18,046 patients.
- High heterogeneity was noted among studies (I² = 94.9%).
- No significant effects were found in moderator analyses.
Why it matters
Strengthening the patient-clinician relationship is crucial for enhancing healthcare outcomes. This review underscores the importance of implementing effective interventions to foster these relationships, which can lead to improved patient satisfaction and health results.
What to keep in mind
High heterogeneity among studies was present, and the certainty of evidence was assessed as low.