Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE)

Evaluation of Patient-Perceived Empathy and Communication Using the CARE Measure Across Centres of Excellence in Orthopaedic, Gastroenterology, and Oncology Services in in Sunway Medical Centre Penang (SMCP)

The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure is a validated patient-reported outcome tool used to evaluate clinicians' interpersonal skills, communication effectiveness, and therapeutic rapport during specialist consultation sessions.

CARE Measure was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive survey using convenience voluntary sampling. The survey included 200 participants and was conducted in 2026, with a 95% confidence interval (CI).

Our data demonstrates consistently high relational performance across all ten surveyed domains, led by how our consultants have excelled in understanding patient concerns and making patients feel at ease while highlighting potential opportunities to increase patient conversational participation.

These outcomes reinforce the strength of our empathetic clinical delivery across key Centres of Excellence, reinforcing Sunway Medical Centre Penang's commitment to patient-centred communication, therapeutic trust, and continuous quality improvement.