Physician communication skills and malpractice claims. A complex relationship.

We assessed the relationship between patients' opinions about their physicians' communication skills and the physician's history of medical malpractice claims. The sample consisted of 107 physicians and 2,030 of their patients who had had an operation or a delivery. Although patients tended to give their physicians favorable ratings, they were least satisfied with the amount of explanations they received. Patients gave higher ratings to general surgeons and obstetrician-gynecologists and poorer ratings to orthopedists and anesthesiologists. Women and better-educated patients gave higher ratings on explanations and communication to physicians with fewer claims. Men and patients with less education, however, gave higher ratings on these dimensions to physicians with more claims. These findings suggest the need for physicians to tailor their communications to a patient's individual needs. Improved communication between physicians and patients may result in fewer nonmeritorious malpractice claims while leading to less costly resolution of meritorious claims.