The healthcare provider-patient relationship in the academic literature: General tendencies, limitations and future perspectives

Objectives. - To carry out a descriptive and critical review of the healthcare provider-patient relationship (PPR) research, including the main issues studied, the theoretical and methodological approaches used, the antecedents and the consequences considered, etc. Methods. - A bibliographical research was performed in eight databases (n = 2714 results). After removal of duplicates, of articles neither in French nor in English, irrelevant or with missing information, 1416 articles were classed in different categories according to nine criteria (e.g. criterion: methodological approach used; categories: articles using a quantitative approach with questionnaires, a qualitative approach with interviews, etc.). The main representative trends of the literature were identified by ranking these categories according to the number of classed articles. The frequencies with which the variables associated with the PPR were studied in the same articles (co-occurrences) were also analyzed. Results. - In addition to identify the most representative trends of the literature (e.g. studies mostly empirical and quantitative, focused on physicians), the results reveal the existence of nine relatively distinct research areas structured around three key cross-cutting variables: patient satisfaction, communication skills of the healthcare provider and treatment choice. Overall, few studies included at the same time the patient and the healthcare provider in the assessment of the quality and consequences of their relationship (asymmetrical focus). Conclusions. - There is especially a need for promoting studies adopting a symmetrical focus, i.e. analyzing the process by which the protagonists adjust reciprocally (or not) their attitudes and behavior. Accordingly, the concept of relational fit is introduced, defined and discussed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.