Empathy Unmasked: Patient Perception of Physician Empathy in an Oncologic Emergency Setting. A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Personal Protective Equipment Wear versus Unmasked Video Communication

Background: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine emerged as an important option that supports and facilitates clinical practice, however, its usefulness in emergency settings that treat patients with cancer is unclear. Objective: To evaluate patient perception of physician empathy in an emergency oncology setting, comparing video interaction to an in-person with personal protective equipment (PPE) approach. Methods: In this single-center, prospective, cross-sectional, survey-based randomized controlled trial, patients were randomized 1:1 for the concluding conversation done in-person which included either interacting with physicians wearing PPE or video interaction with physicians without PPE (virtual). Patients’ perceptions of the physicians’ relational empathy were assessed and compared for each group by using the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure and the Perception of Physician Compassion measure. Results: Patients (n = 106) in both the PPE and virtual arms provided favorable responses to all questions. The mean overall CARE scores for the PPE and virtual arms were 45.02 and 44.43, respectively (difference, 0.58 [95% CI: -2.10, 3.30]). Regarding the linear physician compassion scores, patients in the virtual arm appeared to consider physicians to be warmer (difference, -0.42 [95% CI: -0.87, 0.04]) but less pleasant (difference, 0.33 [95% CI: -0.40, 1.10]) than did patients in the PPE arm. Conclusions: Cancer patients presenting to the emergency department perceive empathy and compassion equally when approached by physicians virtually without PPE or in person while wearing PPE. Virtual services for specific aspects of clinical practice during emergency department visits in an oncology setting can be implemented to ensure safer interactions between patients and physicians without compromising the physician-patient relationship.