Introduction: The 2009 biennial review of health care management

Eric Williams and his colleagues review the literature on both physician burnout and physician–patient communication. A major contribution in this chapter is a model based on these two literatures, which outlines the impact that physician burnout can have on the physician–patient interaction and, therefore, patient outcomes. When physicians become emotionally exhausted, they begin to depersonalize to cope and focus on biomedical issues rather than communicating with the patient. When the patient is approached with this communication style from their physicians, they become less satisfied, trusting, and compliant. Less compliance results in worsened clinical outcomes, especially for patients with chronic disease. The authors discuss both the implications of this model and future directions for research.