Family Practice Vol. 21, No. 3, 232-233
Family Practice Vol. 21, No. 3 © Oxford University Press 2004, all rights reserved.
Editorial |
‘Only connect’: the centrality of doctor–patient relationships in primary care
Department of Education and Professional Studies, King's College, London, UK
E-mail: celiaroberts@lineone.net
Received 1 December 2003; Accepted 7 January 2004.
Celia Roberts. ‘Only connect’: the centrality of doctor–patient relationships in primary care. Family Practice 2004; 21: 232–233.
Keywords. Centrality, doctor–patient relationship, primary care.
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EM Forster's call in A Passage to India to ‘only connect’ is a shorthand for the hundreds of ways in which doctor–patient relationships have been discussed in the literature. As Chew-Graham states, in the parallel editorial, this relationship, and the patient-centred ideology which underpins it, is seen as intrinsically therapeutic. The evidence base for such an assumption is well established, most notably in the literature on quality and continuity of care.
The centrality of relationship-based primary care
There is a strong association between personal continuity, enablement and patient satisfaction.1 Since personal continuity implies both empathy and personal responsibility,2,3 the studies overall show a strong correlation between quality relationships and patient satisfaction. Reviews of
Empowerment and personal relationships
Conclusion