A new study by Endicott College researchers and their colleagues demonstrates that a strong doctor-patient relationship directly improves patients’ physical health outcomes, challenging the notion that bedside manner is just a luxury in a tech-driven medical world.
The systematic review and meta-analysis, published in the peer-reviewed journal Patient Education and Counseling, analyzed 28 randomized controlled trials involving 18,046 patients. By focusing strictly on hard medical data rather than patient satisfaction, the study found that when healthcare providers receive specific communication training, their patients experience better physical health outcomes.
The study was led by Dr. David Neal of Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands and included collaborators from Endicott College, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital, University College London, and other international institutions.
Endicott co-authors include Dr. John Kelley, McCoy Endowed Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Psychology; Dr. Bridget Nestor, Assistant Professor of Psychology; and Camille Archer ’24, a psychology graduate who recently completed a master’s degree in cognitive neuroscience at University College London.
“What's really exciting about our findings is that the therapeutic relationship can have a beneficial effect on so many different disorders,” said Dr. Kelley. “This means that even though the effect may be relatively modest for any single disorder, across a person’s lifetime, a good therapeutic relationship with their clinician can result in a gradual accumulation of clinical benefits over time.”
While the effect of a single doctor-patient interaction is relatively small, the researchers emphasize that these benefits compound over time. Over a person's lifetime, strong relationships with healthcare providers yield substantial cumulative health benefits.
The study serves as a major 12-year update to Dr. Kelley’s landmark 2014 meta-analysis on the same topic, which garnered more than 1,300 citations in the academic literature.
The study is a direct call to action for the healthcare industry, arguing that medical schools, hospitals, and insurers must invest heavily in relationship-building resources to achieve better, scalable healthcare outcomes nationwide.
Read the full study.