Physician Attire Influences Patient Relationships

A new review suggests that that if physicians dressed to match patients’ perceptions, it would improve overall patient trust, satisfaction, and confidence.

Researchers at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA), Yale University (New Haven, CT, USA), and other institutions searched MEDLINE, Embase, and other sources for studies that evaluated physician attire and reported patient perceptions related to attire. The studies were categorized by country of origin, clinical discipline (internal medicine, surgery, etc.), context, and occurrence of a clinical encounter when soliciting opinions regarding attire. The study was termed the targeting attire to improve likelihood of rapport (TAILOR) study.

The review included 30 studies involving 11,533 patients from 14 countries. The researchers found that formal attire and white coats was preferred in 60% of the studies, and was more prevalent among older patients and in Europe and Asia. Four of seven studies involving procedural specialties reported either no preference for attire or a preference for scrubs; four of five studies in intensive care and emergency settings also found no attire preference. Only 3 of 12 studies that surveyed patients after a clinical encounter concluded that attire influenced patient perceptions. The study was published on January 19, 2015, in BMJ Open.

“In general, we found that people prefer their physicians dress on the formal side, and definitely not in casual wear. Doctors of either gender in suits, or a white coat, are more likely to inspire trust and confidence,” said lead author Christopher Petrilli, MD, of the University of Michigan, in an interview with MedicalResearchdot com. “But fashion takes a back seat when it comes to emergency, surgical or critical care, where data show clothes don’t matter as much and patients may even prefer to see doctors in scrubs.”

In the increasingly rushed patient–physician encounter, strategies that help in gaining patient trust and confidence are highly desirable, and a number of studies have suggested that physician attire may be an important early determinant of patient confidence, trust, and satisfaction. Patients are more compliant when they perceive their doctors as being competent, supportive, and respectful, and are more likely to discuss important information such as medication compliance, end-of-life issues, and sexual function.

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