Table 1.

Judgments of competence and warmth in healthcare: the provider “gets it” and “gets me” framework.

	Competence: “My provider gets it”	Warmth: “My provider gets me”
Definition	Patient perceptions of competence, i.e., displays of efficiency, knowledge, and skill	Patient perceptions of warmth, i.e., displays of personal engagement, connection, and care for the patient
Key question in assessments of this dimension	Does the provider understand the diagnosis, treatment, and procedures?	Does the provider understand me as a person?
Examples of general qualities	Education, diagnostic ability, general medical and procedural knowledge, confidence, articulateness, clarity of explanations, use of technology	General friendliness and social engagement (e.g., smiling, making eye contact), introducing themselves, being polite to co-workers
Examples of patient-specific qualities	Knowledge of patients’ family history, experience with similar patients, answering patients’ specific questions and concerns	Knowledge of the patient as a person (i.e., outside of the healthcare context), understanding of patient values, active listening, feeling that the provider respects and does not judge the patient
Qualities bridging warmth and competence	Use of patient-friendly language, individualization of patient explanations and/or care, engagement of patients in their own care and/or decision-making

We define patient-specific qualities as providers’ qualities, such as knowledge of important aspects of a patient’s life outside of the healthcare context (warmth) and experience working with similar patients (competence), that reflect knowledge of the specific patient’s individual needs, desires, and/or perspectives, as opposed to more general qualities of providers, such as general friendliness (warmth) and general medical knowledge (competence), that do not necessarily require knowledge of the specific patient’s individual needs, desires, and/or perspectives.