Healing Skills from the Underserved Patient Perspective

The purpose of this study was to identify physician actions that facilitate meaningful doctor-patient relationships, from the perspective of the medically underserved patient. Twenty-five patients were interviewed at the United Neighborhood Health Services Northeast Clinic in Nashville, Tennessee, which serves an underinsured patient population. Patients were asked to identify the qualities of engagement with their doctor that move beyond simple diagnosis and treatment. Interviews were audio-recorded, professionally transcribed, made anonymous, and analyzed by the grounded theory method of qualitative research. Six physician actions emerged as vital to the doctor-patient relationship. As presented in the words of the patient, they are: Sits down with me; Treats me like family; Cares about me as a person; Takes the time; Gets to the root of it; Will not push me away. How the doctor made the patient feel was vitally important to the clinical encounter.