TY - JOUR T1 - The impact of physician empathy on patient outcomes: A gender analysis JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract DO - 10.3399/BJGP.2021.0193 SP - BJGP.2021.0193 AU - Caroline Surchat AU - Valérie Carrard AU - Jacques Gaume AU - Alexandre Berney AU - Carole Clair Y1 - 2021/10/21 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/early/2021/10/21/BJGP.2021.0193.abstract N2 - Background: Empathy in primary care settings has been linked to improved health outcomes. However, the operationalisation of empathy differs between studies, and no study concurrently compared affective, cognitive, and behavioural components of empathy regarding patient outcomes. Moreover, it is unclear how gender interacts with the studied dimensions. Aim: To examine the relationship between several empathy dimensions and patient-reported satisfaction, consultation’s quality and trust in physician, and to determine whether this relationship is moderated by physician’s gender. Design and setting: Analysis of 61 primary care physicians’ empathy in relation to 244 patient experience questionnaires in French-speaking part of Switzerland. Method: Sixty-one physicians were videotaped with two male and two female patients. Six different empathy measures were assessed: two self-reported measures, a facial recognition test, two external observational measures, and a Synchrony of Vocal Mean Fundamental Frequencies (SVMFF), measuring vocally coded arousal. After the consultation, patients indicated their satisfaction, trust, and quality of the consultation. Results: Female physicians self-rated their empathic concern above their male counterparts, whereas male physicians were more synchronised to their patients. SVMFF was the only significant predictor of all patient outcomes. Verbal empathy statements were linked to higher satisfaction when the physician was a man. Conclusion: Gender differences were observed more often in self-reported measures of empathy than in external measures, indicating a probable social desirability bias. SVMFF significantly predicted all patient outcomes and could be used as a cost-effective proxy of relational quality. ER -