HealthDay News — According to two studies presented at the American Heart Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research 2017 Scientific Sessions in Arlington, VA, patients with heart disease may fare better when they feel they can trust and talk to their doctor.
In one study, Victor Okunrintemi, MD, MPH, of Baptist Health South Florida in Miami, and colleagues found that heart patients who thought their doctors were good communicators were 52% more likely to be taking a statin, and 26% more likely to be taking aspirin.
They were also 41% less likely to go to the emergency department, and spent less on health care — $1243 less per year, on average. The results were based on interviews with 6810 patients with atherosclerosis.
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The second study included 201 patients with hypertension. Half of the study participants were Hispanic. This study was led by Lilia Meltzer, PhD, a nurse practitioner from the University of California, Los Angeles.
The researchers found that those patients who generally trusted the medical profession took their medications 93% of the time — versus 82% among patients who were less trusting.
“Studies like this imply that we can improve our patients’ outcomes if we can be better communicators,” Okunrintemi told HealthDay.
References
Good Communication Helps Improve Outcomes for Heart Patients [press release]. Arlington, VA: American Heart Association; April 3, 2017.
Patients Who Trust the Medical Profession Are More Likely to Take Their High Blood Pressure Medicine [press release]. Arlington, VA: American Heart Association; April 3, 2017.
