Study: General Practitioners’ Empathy and Health Outcomes: A Prospective Observational Study of Consultations in Areas of High and Low Deprivation

Stewart W. Mercer , and colleagues

What This Study Found

Compared with affluent areas, patients in deprived areas have higher rates of ill health, psychosocial problems, and multimorbidity; more problems to discuss within the same visit time yet less desire for shared decision making; perceive their GPs as less empathetic; and have worse outcomes at one month.