How Do We Talk About the Physician–Patient Relationship? What the Nonempirical Literature Tells Us

The physician–patient relationship is an important ideal, and a construct central to discussions regarding health systems change and innovation. This review examines the nonempirical literature focused on the physician–patient relationship published over the past 15 years. The review’s results show a literature that is heavily context bound, relies on a combination of informational and emotional appeals to influence readers, and is mostly focused on portraying the state of this relationship in negative ways. Characteristics of the relationship such as trust, communication, and information are particularly focused on, while other important features like empathy remain less addressed. The review’s findings suggest broadening the perspective regarding how the physician–patient relationship is construed, in order to take advantage of its increased importance in the modern health care marketplace, and to account for new relational dynamics between providers and patients suggested by innovations in care delivery.