In healthcare, the foundation of effective care lies in the trust between patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs). Central to this trust is the quality of information conveyed by HCPs, which directly impacts patient satisfaction and empowerment. A robust patient-physician relationship hinges on patients’ confidence in the knowledge and expertise of their healthcare providers, underscoring the critical role of evidence-based communication in optimizing care outcomes, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest survey-based* thematic intelligence report, “Patient Empowerment”, reveals a high percentage (82%) of surveyed patients were happy with the quality of information they receive from their healthcare providers. Notably, patients between 18 and 35 years old and patients older than 75 years were satisfied with the information the most.

Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research at GlobalData, comments, comments: “Chronic disease management requires the acquisition of skills and knowledge on how to live with the disease, and the HCPs play an important role in providing this information. Physicians’ knowledge-sharing allows patients to better understand their diseases and in turn and to better manage their health.”

When questioned about the current and evidence-based nature of information from their healthcare teams regarding their condition and treatment, 74% of patients affirmed that the information received from their HCPs was evidence-based.

Mirroring previous findings, patients between 18 and 35 years old and older than 75 years had the highest level of agreement compared to the other age groups, which suggests that perceived information quality plays a significant role in building a trusting HCP-patient relationship.

Jakimaviciute concludes: “The patient-physician relationship can play a pivotal role in enhancing patient care. Even though it may take time to establish patients to trust in their HCPs knowledge and experience, when this trust is established, open communication between a patient and their physician can lead to better treatment adherence, and treatment outcomes.

“Higher satisfaction rates among younger generations may be linked to a more proactive interest in their health. According to the survey findings, compared to the rest of the age groups, younger patients (18-35 years old) prepared the questions more frequently for their HCPs, tended to access medical records more frequently, learned and shared experiences in online communities more often, used a wider variety of information sources, and were more inclined to use digital tool/devices, telemedicine, or virtual care to speak to their health providers.”

*GlobalData’s Patient Empowerment survey, sample size of 574 respondents.