A sound relationship between doctors and patients forms the foundation of effective,
safe, and high-quality care. This encourages empathy from the doctor and trust from the
patient. Doctors caring for hospitalized patients have limited time with which to
establish rapport with their patients. Doctors in the hospital are often new to the
patient and only caring for them for a few days. This limited time means that without
effective communication, patients may not share or receive necessary information to
improve their quality of care. Studies have found that a significant number of
hospitalized patients can't name even one doctor from their inpatient care team. Further,
many do not understand their plan of care as explained by these same doctors. This gap in
communication can reduce the patient's ability to give informed consent to treatments. It
can also lead to poor patient outcomes as they are less likely to follow their plan of
care post-discharge.

The goal of this study is to test an intervention to improve the relationship between
patients and doctors, specifically whether small adjustments to a doctor's communication
style will improve interactions and enhance the relationship between patients and their
doctors.

This is a quasi-experimental randomized controlled trial. The study will be conducted at
two hospitals. Two doctors will be recruited every 2-week work rotation. Participants
will be randomized to either the intervention or control study arm. Those assigned to the
control arm will conduct rounds as usual. Those in the intervention arm will be
encouraged to use the intervention approaches when visiting with patients. These
approaches are designed to foster connectedness between patients and doctors.

The primary subject will be the attending doctor. Patients of those doctors will serve as
secondary subjects. Study staff will shadow the doctors when they visit with patients
during rounds. Study staff will ask for verbal consent from patients before entering
their room to conduct these observations. Staff will note the occurrence of any of the
intervention elements, as well as duration of the interaction. A sub-sample of patients
will be asked to complete a survey after the doctor leaves their room. The survey will
evaluate the patient's perspective of the encounter with their doctor. Doctors will be
asked to complete a survey about empathy at the end of their time on service. A few
doctors and patients will be asked to participate in a study interview. The interviews
are to better understand intervention experiences as well as barriers and facilitators to
improving relationships between doctors and patients.