Background Physician-patient interactions can influence both quality of care and patient self-management decisions, which in turn can impact patients' health outcomes.

Objectives Examine the influence of physician-patient interactions on disease activity in a sample of SLE patients at high risk for poor outcomes.

Methods The Georgians Organized Against Lupus (GOAL) is a predominantly African-American (AA) cohort largely drawn from a population-based registry of patients with SLE in Atlanta, GA, US. A subset of 125 GOAL participants from the most recent survey collection were provided two validated patient-reported multidimensional surveys to complete. The Interpersonal Processes of Care (IPC) was used to assess patient perceptions of their interactions with physicians within 3 domains: Communication, Shared Decision Making and Interpersonal Style. The Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire (SLAQ) was used to measure disease activity and SLAQ scores were adjusted for age, disease duration, sex, race, education, and insurance.

Results 97 (78.2%) participants were AA, 19 (15.3%) Caucasian, and 8 (6.5%) of other races. The IPC survey results indicate that patient perceptions were associated with the extent of their SLE disease activity (see table below; p-values <0.05 are starred).

Conclusions Higher IPC scores indicating hurried communication were associated with higher disease activity, while higher IPC scores indicating effective and compassionate patient-centered interactions were associated with lower disease activity. Our findings highlight the potential impact of physician-patient interaction on SLE outcomes as perceived by the patient.

Acknowledgement This research (GHO-11–3366) was funded by GSK.

Disclosure of Interest C. Drenkard Grant/research support from: GSK, G. Bao: None declared, H. Kan Shareholder of: GSK, B. Pobiner Shareholder of: GSK, Employee of: GSK, P. Julie Shareholder of: GSK, Employee of: GSK, W. Eastman Shareholder of: GSK, Employee of: GSK, S. S. Lim Grant/research support from: GSK