Physician personal characteristics influencing long-term treatment of patients with cardiovascular diseases

The main purpose of the article is to identify the peculiarities of a doctor personality, affecting long-term therapy in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Materials and methods: To determine the type of temperament, the presence and intensity of the syndrome of emotional burnout and capacity for empathy therapists and cardiologists were asked to fill in a number of questionnaires. Each doctor had a group of patients contacting by telephone for a year after the discharge from the hospital. During the telephone contact, the patients were asked about the continuation of their therapy recommended in the hospital, the regularity of therapy, the frequency of absence, and the assessment of a physician by the patients. Results: 35 questionnaires were suitable for interpretation. Through one year after the discharge from the hospital it was able to contact with 147 patients, 18.4% (27) of patients completely stopped the treatment by recommended drugs. Positive assessment of physicians was associated with the continuation of the therapy by recommended drugs and regularity of drug taking (p=0,03). Patients assessed physicians positively more often in cases of low level of emotional state, high level of depersonalization (cynicism) and the reduction of personal accomplishment (feeling of professional inefficiency) in a doctor. Conclusion: Assessment of physicians by patients is reliably and significantly influenced by continuation of long-term therapy and regularity of drug taking.