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The impact of business cards on physician recognition after general anesthesia
H C Jeske1, W Lederer, I Lorenz
1Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Leopold Franzens University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
Insights
Giving patients business cards significantly improves anesthesiologist recognition. This simple tool boosted recall of the anesthesiologist
Area of Science:
- Anesthesiology
- Patient Communication
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Anesthesiologists often lack patient recognition despite their critical role in perioperative care.
- Physician anonymity can impact patient perception and communication within the healthcare setting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of providing business cards on patient recognition of anesthesiologists.
- To determine if business cards influence patient recall of the anesthesiologist's name and overall satisfaction.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire-based study interviewed 441 patients 6 weeks post-surgery.
- Patients were divided into three groups: business card recipients, non-recipients, and a control group.
- Data collected included recall of anesthesiologist and surgeon names, and satisfaction with anesthetic care.
Main Results:
- Business card recipients showed significantly higher response rates (65.8%) compared to non-recipients (54.7%) and controls (53%).
- Recall of the anesthesiologist's name was substantially higher in the business card group (51.5%) versus others (14.3% and 11.4%).
- Patient satisfaction and surgeon name recall were consistent across all groups.
Conclusions:
- A simple intervention, like distributing business cards, can measurably enhance patient recognition of anesthesiologists.
- This strategy effectively combats anesthesiologist anonymity in clinical practice.
- Postoperative recall of the anesthesiologist's name increased from 11% to 51% with business card distribution.
Unlabelled:
Despite their contribution to overall perioperative treatment of patients, anesthesiologists often remain in anonymity. We evaluated the impact of business cards on physician recognition after general anesthesia. Using a questionnaire, 441 patients were interviewed for recall of the anesthesiologist's name, the surgeon's name, and their overall satisfaction with anesthetic care 6 wk after undergoing surgery during general anesthesia. Of these patients, 155 had and 137 had not randomly received a business card during the preoperative visit, with another 149 patients serving as a control group. Business card recipients responded significantly more frequently than did nonrecipients or patients from the control group (65.8% vs 54.7% vs 53%), with recall of the anesthesiologist's name being significantly more frequent in the Business Card Recipient group (51.5% vs 14.3% vs 11.4%). Patient satisfaction with anesthetic care and recall of the surgeon's name were similar in all groups. The use of a simple tool such as a business card can indeed produce a measurable positive change in physician recognition on the part of the patient.
Implications:
Anesthesiologists often remain anonymous in everyday clinical practice. Handing a business card to the patient during the preoperative visit increased the postoperative recall of the anesthesiologist's name from 11% to 51%.