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Surchat et al.1 did excellent work. First, they operationalise empathy that has no consensus in the research field yet. Then, they demonstrated that only a behavioural observational empathy measure, synchrony of vocal mean fundamental frequencies (SVMFF), was related to outcomes; patients' satisfaction, consultation's quality and patients' trust.
However, the results are convincing, not surprising. Neighbour2 likened a consultation to a journey with five checkpoints: connecting, summarising, handover, safety-netting and housekeeping. Connecting is related to rapport-building. He explains that rapport can be attained when physicians match patients' way of speaking, such as pace, pitch, volume, rhythm, and modulation. The "matching" or "pacing" skill is originally derived from the field of neuro-linguistic lrogramming.
I am delighted that Neighbour's theory has been borne out by research carried out in GP practices. I want to thank the authors for their valuable findings.
References
1. Surchat C, Carrard V, Gaume J, Berney A, Clair C. Impact of physician empathy on patient outcomes: a gender analysis. Br J Gen Pract 2022;72(715):e99-e107. doi:10.3399/BJGP.2021.0193.2. Neighbour R. The Inner Consultation: How to develop an effective and intuitive consulting style. 2nd edn. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing; 2005.
Competing Interests: None declared.