Pre-consultation information about one's physician can affect trust and treatment outcome expectations

Information about physicians' skills is increasingly available on the internet and consulted by patients. The impact of such information on patient expectations is largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether information about the competence and empathic skills of a physician may impact pre-consultation trust and treatment outcome expectations in mild and severe medical conditions.

In this experimental web-based study, participants (n = 237) read vignettes describing competence and empathic skills (low versus high) of a fictive physician who would surgically remove a mole or melanoma (low versus high severity) following a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design. Participants rated trust in the physician and treatment outcome expectations.

High competence and empathy raised trust in the physician, regardless of condition severity. High competence and high empathy both also increased expected surgery success, while only high competence reduced expected side effects.

Pre-consultation information highlighting a physician's competence and/or empathy may lead to higher trust in that physician, higher expected surgery success, and lower expected side effects.

Physicians and hospital staff should be aware of the effects of written information available and might, for example, provide profiles on hospital websites emphasizing healthcare providers' competence and empathy.