Talking about faith boosts patient satisfaction

Although doctors are often told to keep faith out of the hospital, a new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine suggests otherwise. According to the study, patients who had conversations about religion and spirituality with hospital personnel were the most satisfied with their overall care. Researchers found that 41 percent of studied patients wanted a discussion about religious and spiritual issues, and 32 percent said such discussions occurred. Researchers noted that even patients who did not want to talk about faith had higher rates on all four of the study's patient-satisfaction measures, leading them to conclude that healthcare providers could improve patient experience by having these faith-based conversations in the hospital setting. Study