
With over 50% of primary care providers believing that efforts to measure quality-related outcomes actually make quality worse, it seems there may be something missing from the equation. Relationships may be the key. Surveys consistently demonstrate that patients prioritize both the interpersonal attributes of their providers and their individual relationships with providers above all else. Doctors also ascribe great value to relationships. Kurt Stange, an expert in family medicine and health systems, calls relationships “the antidote to an increasingly fragmented and depersonalized health care system.”