Why Does Patient–Physician Communication Matter? More Active Patients, Decreased Healthcare Use and Costs

Abstract

Today, the increase in the use of emergency health services is one of the most discussed issues. Solutions are sought to reduce the use of unnecessary resources. One of these solutions can be patient–physician communication. Along with this approach, the relationships between patient–physician communication, use of emergency health services, and length of hospital stay was evaluated in this study. In addition, the effect of communication with the physician on the patient activity level was also examined. A total of 724 patients (F/M 397/327, mean age 33.36 ± 15.22 years) were included in this cross-sectional study. “Pearson Correlation Test” and “Simple Linear Regression Test” were used to analyze the data. High communication between physician and patient were associated with higher levels of patient activation ( r = 0.632; P < .01). Likewise, a negative correlation was found between patient–physician communication and emergency healthcare use ( r = −0.712, P < .01) and length of hospital stay ( r = −0.317, P < .01). We think that the positive development of patient–physician communication may be an important way to reduce the use of emergency health services. The findings obtained regarding the length of hospital stay support this result. In addition, it was concluded that good communication with the physician may be an important factor in patients taking a more active role in healthcare. Further research is suggested to examine whether the observed associations are causal.