2023/04/16 by Xin Zhang, Lin-Zi Li, Quan Zhang +2 · 1 voice
Medicine · Health Professions · #Empathy and Medical Education #Innovations in Medical Education #Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
paper · doi:10.1080/10410236.2023.2201735
openalex publication_date 2023/04/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Physician empathy is at the heart of doctor-patient communication and significantly influences patient outcomes. However, the research on how physicians express their empathy and how physician empathy affects patient outcomes and doctor-patient communication has not been well summarized in the latest literature. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to synthesize existing studies on physician empathy and its value to patient outcomes and doctor-patient communication. The systematic review consisted of studies published in English peer-reviewed journals between January 2017 and October 2021. Following the PRISMA procedure, a total of 3055 articles were retrieved, and 11 articles were retained. The thematic analysis revealed three emergent themes: physicians' empathic expressions; patient outcomes (patient functional status, patient safety, and patient satisfaction); and empathy enhancing doctor-patient communication. This study highlighted the different ways empathy may be expressed by physicians and its positive effects on patient outcomes and doctor- patient communication. This study also suggested the under-researched areas that can be expanded in the future.