If your healthcare provider is kind, you will feel less pain

Having blood drawn by a courteous healthcare provider can really ease these procedures, suggests a study presented at the 2019 Anesthesiology Annual Meeting.

In fact, an empathetic provider, who asks about patients’ past experiences with needles and takes their preferences into account, could make all the difference in pain management. Patients in the study were 390% more likely to say their pain was well controlled when the person drawing their blood was courteous, the researchers found.

Researchers set out to assess whether more blood tests would increase the experience of pain, and then determine whether courtesy from healthcare workers would alleviate the discomfort of a higher number of needle sticks.

“It’s no surprise that a courteous healthcare provider could improve the patient experience, but we were shocked at the power of this factor,” said Mario Moric, MS, lead author of the study. and biostatistician at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. “We thought that the more needle sticks, the higher the pain perception, but we found the effect to be weak. It turns out that the pain experience is much more affected by the attitude of the people who treat you. “

The researchers analyzed the responses of 4,740 adult patients about their experience when they were hospitalized, specifically two questions about pain control and a statement about the courtesy of the person who drew their blood. Patients have been hospitalized for various reasons including illness, surgery, etc. The average length of stay was 5.3 days and the average number of blood tests was 3.8.

For the two questions relating to pain, patients answered from 1 (never) to 4 (always). The researchers determined that 3,882 of 4,740 patients (82%) responded 4 when asked how often staff did all they could to help them with their pain and 3,112 (65%) responded. answered 4 when asked how often their pain was well controlled.

Patients were separately asked to rate the courtesy of the person who drew their blood from 1 (very bad) to 5 (very good). The researchers found that those who answered 5 were 390% more likely to have rated their pain control as 4 (the maximum), than those who rated their provider as less courteous.

Repetitive blood tests are often a major source of anxiety and worry and therefore a large part of the pain experience, the researchers note. The results suggest that while drawing blood several times a day can be uncomfortable, if the person drawing the blood is empathetic, the patient’s overall pain experience may be improved.

“It is important to continue to improve healthcare procedures by making them less invasive, but listening to patients and letting them know that you are trying to minimize their discomfort is also very powerful and should be the focus of all training programs. in health care, ”Asokumar said. Buvanendran, MD, study co-author, chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists committee on pain medicine, and vice chair of research at Rush University Medical Center. “Being kind makes a big difference in the patient experience, and it’s good for everyone.”

Provided by the American Society of Anesthesiologists