US doctors are judged more on bedside manner than effectiveness of care, survey finds

When assessing a doctor, people tend to focus more on personality and the quality of their relationship with the doctor than on the effectiveness of the care provided, a new US survey has found.1

The survey was conducted by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It sought to find out what people considered important when choosing a doctor and what resources they used to make their decision. A total of 1002 adults aged over 18 participated in the survey, and the overall margin of error was plus or minus four …