Patients list 7 key traits of good doctors

Being thorough was the ideal physician characteristic mentioned most often.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. April 3, 2006.

When it comes to bedside manner, physicians should possess seven ideal behaviors. Based on what patients told researchers, the doctor should be confident, empathetic, humane, personal, forthright, respectful and thorough.

"There are many doctors who exemplify all seven of the traits. In fact, a doctor who doesn't have all seven of the traits is likely to fall short in the patient's assessment," said Leonard Berry, PhD, who co-authored the study, "Patients' Perspectives on Ideal Physician Behaviors," which appeared in the March Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Researchers in 2001 and 2002 interviewed 192 patients treated by doctors in 14 different specialties at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. Patients were asked to give their best and worst experiences with a Mayo physician and to provide specifics about their encounters.

Of the seven behaviors researchers identified, the most frequently mentioned was "thorough," while "empathetic" was mentioned the least. Patients rarely talked about a physician's technical competence, researchers said, because it is often difficult to assess.

When patients detailed their worst experiences, they said physicians were arrogant in dismissing their input, and disinterested and impatient in answering questions.