Show 1165: Can Your Doctor's Positive Attitude Improve Your Health?

We all prefer to interact with people who are friendly, supportive and helpful. But when it comes to health care providers, does “bedside manner” really make a difference? Or is a doctor’s positive attitude irrelevant to the medical outcome?

Does Your Doctor’s Positive Attitude Affect Your Health?

We talk with a scientist who has looked into this question and concluded that “having a doctor who is warm and reassuring actually improves your health.” Doctoral candidate Kari Leibowitz will explain her research and how she reached that conclusion. She also suggests how this effect may be working.

How Does Your Doctor React to Dr. Google?

Many people have told us that if they take the results of an internet search to their doctor visit, the reception can be frosty. Dr. Mike Stang welcomes his patients bringing him their ideas and the information they have found. Does treating patients like partners make a difference in their care? Tell us about your experiences, especially when a doctor’s positive attitude made a difference: 888-472-3366 between 7 and 8 am EDT on Saturday, May 18, 2019. Or send us email: radio@peoplespharmacy.com

This Week’s Guests:

Kari Leibowitz is a Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow and doctoral candidate in psychology at Stanford University. Kari works in the Stanford Mind & Body Lab and her research involves leveraging mindsets to improve healthcare experiences and outcomes. https://mbl.stanford.edu/ Her research was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in December 2018 and written up in The New York Times.

Michael T. Stang, MD, is the Chief Quality Officer for Duke Raleigh Hospital in the Duke Medical Center. He is an Associate Professor of Surgery, an endocrine surgeon, and a surgical oncologist.