Benedetti, F. (2013). Placebo and the new physiology of the doctor-patient relationship.

American Physiological
Society, 93(3), 1207-1246. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00043.2012

Patient satisfaction, an indirect measurement of healthcare service quality, is positively related to

patient-physician trust. Trust in the doctor-patient relationship is facilitated primarily by subjective influences
(i.e. assessment of interpersonal treatment, knowledge of the patient, etc), but doctor-patient communication,
due to its prevalent role in effective healthcare service, is proven to be an influence that contributes significantly
to the basis of patient-physician trust. Supported by studies demonstrating patient preference for evidence based
medicine and shared-decision making, patient trust is closely related to and somewhat influenced by a health
care provider's communication skills. Patient satisfaction is positively correlated with a physician’s
communication skills. In addition, patients with chronic diseases equivaleate communication and trust with
effectiveness of provided care, thus indicating the importance of trust, often built through communication, in the
doctor-patient relationship. In tandem, studies have discovered that patient dissatisfaction is related to
inadequate doctor-patient interaction, and physicians can rate doctor-patient communication higher than patients
in assessment tools. This discrepancy highlights the need for ongoing communication training for physicians.
The study recommends three steps be taken to improve communication, and thus the doctor-patient relationship:
patient empowerment, patient satisfaction surveys, and medical staff communication training. It is essential
these steps are taken in order to facilitate higher levels of patient trust in their physicians which will improve
patient adherence, improve patient satisfaction, improve clinical outcomes, and result in better perceived quality
of healthcare services.
The author(s), Masoud Mohammadnezhad, Paul R. Ward, and Swastika Chandra, are qualified to
discuss trust as it relates to the doctor-patient relationship because their credentials include Department of
Public Health (Health Promotion), Fiji National University (Fiji Islands) and Department of Public Health,
Flinders University (Australia). Swastika Chandra’s contact information is also included in the article. Written
three years ago, this source is current on the topic of effective communication facilitating patient-physician trust
in the doctor-patient relationship. The author of this article thoroughly evaluated all sides of the issue. For
example, they acknowledge a study that found patient trust was influenced more heavily by assurance treatment
and respect for the physician rather than a physician’s communication skills. However, they then address that
opposing viewpoint with a study demonstrating the ability of good doctor-patient concordance to facilitate
better patient trust. This inclusion shows that the article’s authors acknowledge alternative viewpoints in order
to demonstrate the complexity of the topic discussed and highlight alternative viewpoints that likely hold some
degree of truth along with the main claims presented in the literary review. The information contained in the
source can be verified elsewhere. For example, the author says trust is a fundamental component of the
doctor-patient relationship, which can be corroborated by Fulton County Medical Center in their publication
The Importance of Healthy Doctor-Patient Relationships. This article discusses trust in the doctor-patient
relationship, highlighting its ability to build the foundations for healthy doctor-patient interaction facilitated
largely through open, two-way communication. The purpose of this article is to conduct a literature review of
sources discussing trust, communication, and the doctor-patient relationship in order to draw conclusions
regarding the connections between them and patient satisfaction/treatment effectiveness. The audience is
physicians and other health-care workers who actively engage and build relationships with patients. The article
is appropriate for this purpose and audience because it discusses the connections between communication and
trust, and expands to apply those connections to the doctor-patient relationship. For example, the article
highlights several studies supporting the positive relation between trust and treatment effectiveness, and then
proceeds to provide communication recommendations so health care providers may facilitate trust effectively
with their patient.