Increasing Empathy to Improve Patient Outcomes
By Sarah Mapes, Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved
We believe that it is important for health care providers to be able to empathize with their patients. We believe this because the data tells us that providers with higher levels of empathy are associated with better patient outcomes. However, we also believe this because as patients ourselves, we feel better cared for when our providers show that they understand us.
For patients with complex lives and complex health needs, empathy is even more important. Many Coloradans experience health challenges due to a variety of factors, such as income, education, race or ethnicity, and access to quality food, housing, or transportation. These are social determinants of health, and they interfere with patients’ ability to get their health care needs met, long before they step foot into an exam room.
Unfortunately, we also know from a number of studies that medical students experience a significant decline in empathy their third year of medical school. So, this week, the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved (CCMU) has released a new video and supplemental resources to restore some of it for Colorado’s future health care providers.
This project, funded in part by John Moran, Jr. Leadership Award CCMU received from The Colorado Trust, aims to educate providers on the social determinants of health and their powerful influence in patients’ lives. The video follows a typical health care visit, and interjects important information about the ways in which social determinants may affect a patient’s ability to comply with recommended treatment plans. It also features several providers from around Colorado who share personal experiences and suggest ways to care more effectively for struggling patients.
Every year, Colorado graduates several hundred new doctors, nurses, physician assistants, medical assistants and other health care professionals. We hope to integrate this video and its supplementary materials into these students’ curriculum so that future providers enter the workforce well aware of the barriers to care that their patients may face, and armed with important tools to help address such barriers.
Our communities have a wealth of resources at their disposal, from prescription assistance programs and translation services to diabetes support groups and free classes. Part of the challenge is assuring that providers are first, aware of their patients’ needs, and second, informed about all that is available to help. Providers who are empowered to work with patients to help address social factors affecting health will ultimately have better patient outcomes, and that means success for patients, providers and all Coloradans.
By starting this conversation, we hope to encourage more creative thinking, and find new solutions to these old problems. Whether this is brand new information for you, or an important reminder, we hope you’ll watch the video, check out the accompanying resources, and share it with others.
