Appendix 1: search strategies
EMBASE search on the 27th of January 2014
Set 1:
physician/ or anesthesist/ or cardiologist/ or dermatologist/ or emergency physician/ or
endocrinologist/ or female physician/ or general practitioner/ or gerontologist/ or gynecologist/
or hospital physician/ or internist/ or nephrologist/ or neurologist/ or occupational physician/
or orthopedic specialist/ or pathologist/ or pediatrician/ or podiatrist/ or psychiatrist/ or
radiologist/ or surgeon/ or urologist/
or
(physician* or clinician* or hospitalist* or consultant* or faculty* or doctor* or
anesthesiologist* or anaesthesiologist* or gynecologist* or gynaecologist* or surgeon* or
pediatrician* or radiologist* or psychiatrist* or gp* or neurologist* or general practitioner*).ti.
and (patient or patients).ti,ab.
Set 2:
personality/ or interpersonal communication/ or communication skill/ or nonverbal
communication/ or persuasive communication/ or verbal communication/ or behavior/ or
human characteristic/
or
(extraversion or neuroticism or "emotional stability" or stability or emotionality or likability or
friendliness or "social conformity" or compliance or conformity or dependability or "openness
to experience" or vulnerability or agreeableness or conscientiousness or intellect or
dutifulness or tendermindedness or "individual characteristics" or "personal characteristics"
or "physician characteristics" or "gp characteristics" or "clinician characteristics" or
"consultant characteristics" or "faculty characteristics" or "doctor characteristics" or
personality).ti,ab.
Set 3:
good clinical practice/ or patient satisfaction/ or patient safety/ or job performance/ or
professional competence/ or clinical competence/ or exp medical error/ or exp treatment
outcome/ or exp mortality/ or health care quality/ or clinical effectiveness/ or incident report/
or complication/ or anesthesia complication/ or catheter complication/ or infection
complication/ or infectious complication/ or perioperative complication/ or peroperative
complication/ or preoperative complication/ or wound complication/
or
(guideline adherence or complaint* or error* or mortality or performance or clinical
effectiveness or clinical outcome* or patient outcome or quality of health care or treatment
outcome or error* iatrogenic disease or patient readmission or length of stay or reoperation
or adverse events or patient safety or unintended events or unintended consequences or
patient satisfaction or patient compliance or patient centered care).ti,ab.
Not publication types: (book or book series or conference abstract or conference paper or
"conference review" or editorial or erratum or letter or note or conference proceeding)
Number of hits: 5886
MEDLINE on the 14th of January 2013
(("Physicians"[Mesh] OR "Physician-Patient Relations"[MAJR] OR ((physician*[ti] OR
clinician* [ti] OR consultant*[ti] OR faculty[ti] OR doctor*[ti] OR hospitalist*[ti] OR
anesthesiologist*[ti] OR anaesthesiologist*[ti] OR gynecologist*[ti] OR gynaecologist*[ti] OR
surgeon*[ti] OR pediatrician*[ti] OR radiologist*[ti] OR neurologist*[ti] OR psychiatrist[ti] OR
GP[ti] OR general practitioner*[ti]) AND (patient[tiab] OR patients[tiab]))) AND
(("personality"[Mesh] NOT ("personality development"[Mesh])) OR "human
characteristics"[Mesh] OR “communication”[mesh:NoExp] OR behavior[mesh:NoExp] OR
nonverbal communication[Mesh:NoExp] OR extraversion[tiab] OR neuroticism[tiab] OR
emotional stability[tiab] OR stability[tiab] OR emotionality[tiab] OR likability[tiab] OR
friendliness [tiab] OR social conformity [tiab] OR compliance[tiab] OR conformity[tiab] OR
dependability[tiab] OR openness to experience[tiab] OR Vulnerability[tiab] OR
agreeableness[tiab] OR conscientiousness[tiab] OR intellect[tiab] OR dutifulness[tiab] OR
tender-mindedness[tiab] OR "individual characteristics"[tiab] OR "personal
characteristics"[tiab] OR "physician characteristics"[tiab] OR “GP characteristics”[tiab] OR
“clinician characteristics”[tiab] OR “consultant characteristics”[tiab] OR “faculty
characteristics”[tiab] OR “doctor characteristics”[tiab] OR behavior*[tiab] OR behaviour*[tiab]
OR "personality"[tiab]) AND ("Outcome Assessment (Health Care)"[MeSH:NoExp] OR
patient centered care[mesh] OR "quality of health care"[Mesh:NoExp] OR "patient
care"[Mesh:NoExp] OR "Safety/standards"[Mesh:NoExp] OR patient safety[tiab] OR
"complications "[Subheading] OR "Postoperative Complications"[Mesh] OR performance[tiab]
OR "Surgical Wound Infection"[Mesh] OR "Patient Readmission"[Mesh] OR
"Reoperation"[Mesh] OR "Length of Stay"[Mesh] OR "Iatrogenic Disease"[Mesh] OR
mortality[tiab] OR adverse events[tiab] OR "Patient Satisfaction"[MAJR] OR patient
outcome*[tiab] OR “clinical effectiveness”[tiab] OR clinical outcome*[tiab] OR patient
satisfaction[tiab] OR "professional competence"[Mesh] OR Mortality[Mesh] OR error*[tiab]
OR unintended events[tiab] OR unintended consequences[tiab] OR complaint*[tiab] OR
guideline adherence[tiab] OR guideline adherence [Mesh])) NOT ("Letter"[Publication Type]
OR "Comment"[Publication Type] OR "Editorial"[Publication Type] OR
"Guideline"[Publication Type] OR "Case Reports"[Publication Type] OR Practice guideline
[publication type] OR autobiography [publication type] OR biography [publication type] OR
interview [publication type] OR portraits [publication type])
Number of hits: 5239
PsycINFO search on the 14th of January 2013
Set 1: physicians/ or family physicians/ or general practitioners/ or gynecologists/ or
internists/ or neurologists/ or obstetricians/ or pathologists/ or pediatricians/ or psychiatrists/
or surgeons/ or clinicians/
or
((physician* or clinician* or hospitalist* or consultant* or faculty* or doctor* or
anesthesiologist* or anaesthesiologist* or gynecologist* or gynaecologist* or surgeon* or
pediatrician* or radiologist* or psychiatrist* or gp* or neurologist* or general practitioner*).ti.
and (patient or patients).ti,ab.)
Set 2: behavior/ or communication/ or interpersonal communication/ or nonverbal
communication/ or persuasive communication/ or verbal communication/ or communication
skills/ or exp personality traits/ or five factor personality model/
or
(extraversion or neuroticism or emotional stability or stability or emotionality or likability or
friendliness or social conformity or compliance or conformity or dependability or openness to
experience or vulnerability or agreeableness or conscientiousness or intellect or dutifulness
or tendermindedness or individual characteristics or personal characteristics or physician
characteristics or gp characteristics or clinician characteristics or consultant characteristics or
faculty characteristics or doctor characteristics or behavior* or behaviour* or
personality).ti,ab.
Set 3: treatment guidelines/ or best practices/ or satisfaction/ or client satisfaction/ or
consumer satisfaction/ or client participation/ or safety/ or exp job performance/ or
professional competence/ or employee efficiency/ or misdiagnosis/ or personnel evaluation/
or occupational success prediction/ or exp treatment outcomes/ or treatment effectiveness
evaluation/ or "death and dying"/ or morbidity/ or postsurgical complications/ or treatment
duration/ or "quality of care"/ or treatment compliance/
or
(guideline adherence or complaint* or error* or mortality or performance or clinical
effectiveness or clinical outcome* or patient outcome or quality of health care or patient care
or treatment outcome or error* iatrogenic disease or patient readmission or length of stay or
reoperation or adverse events or patient safety or unintended events or unintended
consequences or patient satisfaction or patient compliance or patient centered care).ti,ab.
Number of hits: 1924
Appendix 2: References of studies that related health care providers’ personality or
interpersonal behavior to the quality of their provided patient care (studies that
included physicians in their sample accompanied with other health care
professionals such as residents, students, nurses and physician assistants)
Allen AS, Orav EJ, Lee TH, Sequist TD. Clinician personality and the evaluation of higher-risk
patient symptoms. J Patient Saf 2011;7:122-126.
Begley TM, Lee C, Czajka JM. The relationships of Type A behavior and optimism with job
performance and blood pressure. Journal of Business and Psychology 2000; 15: 215-227
Bertakis KD, Roter D, Putnam SM. The relationship of physician medical interview style to
patient satisfaction. J Fam Pract 1991;32:175-181.
Carter WB, Inui TS, Kukull WA, Haigh VH. Outcome-based doctor-patient interaction analysis:
II. Identifying effective provider and patient behavior. Med Care 1982;20:550-566.
Cecil DW, Killeen I. Control, compliance, and satisfaction in the family practice encounter.
Fam Med 1997;29:653-657.
Christen RN, Alder J, Bitzer J. Gender differences in physicians' communicative skills and their
influence on patient satisfaction in gynaecological outpatient consultations. Soc Sci Med
2008;66:1474-1483.
Clayton MF, Latimer S, Dunn TW, Haas L. Assessing patient-centered communication in a
family practice setting: how do we measure it, and whose opinion matters? Patient Educ
Couns 2011;84:294-302.
Cruz M, Roter DL, Cruz RF, Wieland M, Larson S, Cooper LA, et al. Appointment length,
psychiatrists' communication behaviors, and medication management appointment
adherence. Psychiatric Services 2013;9:886-92.
Davis MS. Variation in patients' compliance with doctors' orders: Medical practice and
doctor-patient interaction. Psychiatry in Medicine 1971; 2; 31-54
Dyche L, Swiderski D. The effect of physician solicitation approaches on ability to identify
patient concerns. J Gen Intern Med 2005; 20: 267-270.
Fossli JB, Dahl FA, Safran DG et al. The ability of a behaviour-specific patient questionnaire to
identify poorly performing doctors. BMJ Qual Saf 2011;20:885-893.
Gordon GH, Joos SK, Byrne J. Physician expressions of uncertainty during patient encounters.
Patient Educ Couns 2000;40:59-65.
Graugaard PK, Holgersen K, Finset A. Communicating with alexithymic and non-alexithymic
patients: an experimental study of the effect of psychosocial communication and empathy
on patient satisfaction. Psychother Psychosom 2004;73:92-100.
Hall JA, Irish JT, Roter DL, Ehrlich CM, Miller LH. Satisfaction, gender, and communication in
medical visits. Med Care 1994;32:1216-1231.
Haskard KB, Williams SL, DiMatteo MR, Rosenthal R, White MK, Goldstein MG. Physician and
patient communication training in primary care: effects on participation and satisfaction.
Health Psychol 2008;27:513-522.
Joos SK, Hickam DH, Gordon GH, Baker LH. Effects of a physician communication intervention
on patient care outcomes. J Gen Intern Med 1996;11:147-155.
Kinsman H, Roter D, Berkenblit G et al. "We'll do this together": the role of the first person
plural in fostering partnership in patient-physician relationships. J Gen Intern Med
2010;25:186-193.
Korsch BM, Gozzi EK, Francis V. Gaps in doctor-patient communication. 1. Doctor-patient
interaction and patient satisfaction. Pediatrics 1968;42:855-871.
Krupat E, Frankel R, Stein T, Irish J. The Four Habits Coding Scheme: validation of an
instrument to assess clinicians' communication behavior. Patient Educ Couns 2006;62:38-45.
Lobb EA, Butow PN, Barratt A et al. Communication and information-giving in high-risk breast
cancer consultations: influence on patient outcomes. Br J Cancer 2004;90:321-327.
Pearson SD, Goldman L, Orav EJ et al. Triage decisions for emergency department patients
with chest pain: do physicians' risk attitudes make the difference? J Gen Intern Med
1995;10:557-564.
Putnam SM, Stiles WB, Jacob MC, James SA. Patient exposition and physician explanation in
initial medical interviews and outcomes of clinic visits. Med Care 1985;23:74-83.
Robbins JM, Kirmayer LJ, Cathebras P, Yaffe MJ, Dworkind M. Physician characteristics and
the recognition of depression and anxiety in primary care. Med Care 1994;32:795-812.
Roter DL, Hall JA, Kern DE, Barker LR, Cole KA, Roca RP. Improving
physicians' interviewing skills and reducing patients' emotional distress. A
randomized clinical trial. Arch Intern Med 1995;155:1877-1884.
Roter DL, Stewart M, Putnam SM, Lipkin M, Jr., Stiles W, Inui TS.
Communication patterns of primary care physicians. JAMA 1997;277:350-356.
Rowland-Morin PA, Carroll JG. Verbal communication skills and patient
satisfaction. A study of doctor-patient interviews. Eval Health Prof
1990;13:168-185.
Sandhu H, Dale J, Stallard N, Crouch R, Glucksman E. Emergency nurse
practitioners and doctors consulting with patients in an emergency
department: a comparison of communication skills and satisfaction. Emerg
Med J 2009;26:400-404.
Shaw WS, Pransky G, Roter DL, Winters T, Tveito TH, Larson SM. The effects
of patient-provider communication on 3-month recovery from acute low back
pain. J Am Board Fam Med 2011;24:16-25.
Sleath B, Carpenter DM, Slota C et al. Communication during pediatric
asthma visits and self-reported asthma medication adherence. Pediatrics
2012;130:627-633.
Smets EM, Hillen MA, Douma KF, Stalpers LJ, Koning CC, de Haes HC. Does
being informed and feeling informed affect patients' trust in their radiation
oncologist? Patient Educ Couns 2013;90:330-337.
Smith CK, Polis E, Hadac RR. Characteristics of the initial medical interview
associated with patient satisfaction and understanding. J Fam Pract
1981;12:283-288.
Stapleton RD, Engelberg RA, Wenrich MD, Goss CH, Curtis JR. Clinician
statements and family satisfaction with family conferences in the intensive
care unit. Crit Care Med 2006;34:1679-1685.
Stiles WB, Putnam SM, Wolf MH, James SA. Interaction exchange structure
and patient satisfaction with medical interviews. Med Care 1979;17:667-681.
Street RL, Jr., Richardson MN, Cox V, Suarez-Almazor ME.
(Mis)understanding in patient-health care provider communication about total
knee replacement. Arthritis Rheum 2009;61:100-107.
Wissow L, Gadomski A, Roter D, Larson S, Lewis B, Brown J. Aspects of
mental health communication skills training that predict parent and child
outcomes in pediatric primary care. Patient Educ Couns 2011;82:226-232.
Zandbelt LC, Smets EMA, Oort FJ, Godfried MH, de Haes HCJM. Medical
specialists' patient-centered communication and patient-reported outcomes.
Med Care 2007;45:330-339.
Appendix 3: Overall study characteristics
Characteristic
Studies, n (%)
Publication year
<1989
9
1990-1999
21
2000-2006
19
≥2007
39
Location
United States
46
Netherlands*
13
United Kingdom
8
Australia #
6
Canada
5
Norway
2
Spain
2
Belgium
2
Sweden
1
Switzerland
1
France
1
Poland
1
Specialty
Primary Care
46
Oncology
15
Other internal
specialties
7
Pediatrics
6
Multiple specialties
5
Surgical specialties
4
Psychiatry
1
Anesthesiology
1
Obstetrics
1
unspecified
2
*= one study also included Belgium, #= one study also included New Zealand
Appendix 4: Overall quality of included studies
Quality check
Number of studies
Study Design
Single group cross-sectional
48
Single group pre and post-test
28
Non-randomized, two group
2
Randomized controlled experiment
10
Institutions
Single institution
25
Two institutions
4
More than two institutions
59
Response rate
not reported
33
<50%
13
50-74%
16
75-100%
26
Validity of internal structure
reported
Not reported
17
Reported
71
Highest outcomes level
Patient perceptions
37
Physician behaviors
15
Patient behaviors
21
Patient outcomes
15
adjustment for possible
confounders
Not adjusted (univariate analysis only)
21
Not adjusted (multivariate analysis)
5
Multivariate adjusted
52
Randomized by study design
10