Patient affect, physician liking for the patient, physician behavior, and patient reported outcomes: A modeling...

To determine associations between patient affect and physician liking of the patient, and their associations with physician behavior and patient-reported outcomes.

Structural equation modeling based on coding of 497 videotaped hospital encounters, with questionnaires assessing pre-visit patient affect, post-visit patient affect and encounter evaluations, and physician liking of the patient, involving 71 physicians.

In first visits, patient reported outcomes were strongly correlated with physician behavior and less so with physician liking, while in later visits, patient reported outcomes were directly related to physician liking and not mediated by physician behavior. Physician liking predicted physician behavior, more for female physicians in first visits. Patient negative affect before the visit was negatively associated with male physicians' liking. When acquainted, both patient positive and negative affect were associated with physician liking.

Physician liking of the patient plays a dynamic role in a consultation, is influenced by patient pre-encounter affect, and influences physician behavior. The dynamics are different in first and later visits, and influenced by physician gender.

Physicians should be aware how patient affect influences their behavior, and administrators should take any prior relationship between patient and physician into account when evaluating patient reported outcomes.