Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System

Evaluation of the Patients’ Expectations and Satisfaction with Physicians in Iranian Public Clinics: A Study Conducted in Kerman

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Sareh Balavar 1
Leila Vali 1
Seyed Hossein Saberi Anaraki 2
Yunes Jahani 3
Rahil GhorbaniNia 4

1 Department of Health Services Management, Environmental Health Engineering Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

2 Department of Health Services Management, Faculty of Health Services Management, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

3 Modeling in Health Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

4 Student in Health Services Management, Department of Health Services Management, Faculty of Health Services Management, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/jhsss.2022.94446.1538
Abstract
Background: More satisfied patients in medical care accelerate the progress of treatments and achieve the foremost goal of treatment, which is to improve patients. The aim of this study was to assess the patients’ expectations and satisfaction with physicians working in public clinics in Kerman.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in four clinics under the auspices of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. 385 patients were enrolled in the study using simple random sampling. Britten questionnaire was used to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS22 using appropriate tests. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed using the content method. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for reliability, which was 0.8 for the Reasons of visiting the Doctor Questionnaire and 0.9 for the questionnaire after the examination.
Results: The highest expectations of patients (73%) in the reasons for seeing a doctor were related to the diagnosis of the disease, and the lowest expectations were related to the tests and the desire to prescribe (28.6%). Overall satisfaction with the physician was 55.3% among the patients. There was no significant difference between the patients’ expectations of the physician with any of the demographic characteristics. Patients’ expectations before and after seeing a doctor were not significantly different.
Conclusion: Understanding the relationship between the treatment team and the patient means that the decisions made for patients are not dependent on the treating physician and patients’ expectations.

Keywords

Patient satisfaction
Drug Prescriptions
Physician patient relation
Outpatients
Outpatient clinic
Expectations
  1. Almarsdottir AB, Traulsen JM. Rational use of medicines--an important issue in pharmaceutical policy. Pharm World Sci 2005;27(2):76-80. doi: 10.1007/s11096-005-3303-7.
  2. Sepehri G, Haj Akbari N, Mousavi A. Prescribing patterns of general practitioners in Kerman province of Iran, 2003. J Babol Univ Med Sci 2005; 7(4):76-82. [In Persian] URL: http://jbums.org/article-1-2608-fa.html.
  3. De Figueiredo RC, Snoek FJ, Barreto SM. Do patients and physicians agree on diabetes management? A study conducted in public healthcare centres in Brazil. Patient Educ Couns 2013;92(1):107-13. doi: 1016/j.pec.2013.01.017.
  4. Fedayazadeh L, Pirouz A, Kazimpur M. Remote Medical Consultancy Guide. Tehran: for Tuberculosis and Pulmonary Diseases Research Center Dr. Masih Daneshvari,Center for Remote Medical Research; 2000. Persian.
  5. Esmaeili R, Ashktorab T, Esmaeili M, Raiis Yazdi H, Jamalodini H. Philosophy of human relationships and ethics in Medical Sciences. Med Ethics 2011; 5(16): 79-93. [In Persian]. doi: 22037/mej.v5i16.3681.
  6. Amani F, Shaker A, SoltanMohaammadzadeh MS, Alaaf Akbari N, SarrafeSmaeili S. Drug use pattern between urban families in Ardabil city, Iran. PayavardSalamat 2012; 5(5):36-45. URL: http://payavard.tums.ac.ir/article-52-1-fa.html.
  7. Hanlon JT, Schmader KE, Samsa GP, Weinberger M, Uttech KM, Lewis IK, et al. A method for assessing drug therapy appropriateness. J Clin Epidemiol 1992;45(10):1045-51. doi: 1016/0895-4356(92)90144-C. PMID: 1474400.
  8. Alizadeh A, Mehdi A. The needs, expectations and opinions of patients about the relationship between physician and patient. Iranian Journal of Medical Education 2005; 4(14): 101-10. [In Persian].
  9. Noorossana R, Rezaeian S, Moradi S, Rezaeian Z. Assessment of patients’ satisfaction from general physicians’ services: a cross-sectional study from Iran. Med Ethics 2013; 6(22):161-84. [In Persian] doi: 22037/mej.v6i22.4214.
  10. Tu J, Kang G, Zhong J, Cheng Y. Outpatient communication patterns in a cancer hospital in China: A qualitative study of doctor–patient encounters. Health Expect. 2019; 22: 594–603. doi: 1111/hex.12890. PMID: 30957939. PMCID: PMC6543146.
  11. Britten N, Jenkins L, Barber N, Bradley C, Stevenson F. Developing a measure for the appropriateness of prescribing in general practice. Qual Saf Health Care 2003;12(4):246-50. doi: 1136/qhc.12.4.246.
  12. Adugnaw B, Fikre E. Patient expectations and their satisfaction in the
    context of public hospitals. Patient Preference and Adherence 2016;10: 1919–1928. doi: 2147/PPA.S109982. PMID: 27703337. PMCID: PMC5038575.
  13. AfkhamEbrahimi A, Nasr Esfahani M, Saghafi N. Patients’ Expectations and Satisfaction with their Treating Physician. RJMS 2004; 11(41):367-75. [In Persian] URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-24-en.html.
  14. Giroldia E, Timmermana A, Veldhuijzena W, Murisa J, Vleuten C, Weijdena T. How doctors recognise that their patients are worried: A qualitative study of patient cues. Patient Educ Couns 2020;103: 220–225.  doi: 1016/j.pec.2019.09.023. PMID: 31585821.
  15. MosadeghRad AM, Jooya T. Factors influencing patient choice of a medical consultant in Tehran. RJMS. 2017; 24 (160) :62-72. [In Persian] URL: http://rjms.iums.ac.ir/article-1-4392-fa.html.
  16. Von Ferber L, Köster I, Prüss U. Patient variables associated with expectations for prescriptions and general practitioners' prescribing behavior: an observational study. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2002;11(4):291-9. doi: 1002/pds.714. PMID: 12138597.
  17. Hibbard JH, Greene J. What the evidence shows about patient activation: better health outcomes and care experiences; fewer data on costs. Health Aff 2013; 32:207–14. doi: 1377/hlthaff.2012.1061. PMID: 23381511.
  18. Falvo DR. Effective Patient Education: A Guide to Increased Compliance: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2004; Medical - 338 Pages.
  19. Virji A, Britten N. A study of the relationship between patients' attitudes and doctors' prescribing. Fam Pract 1991;8(4):314-9. doi: 1093/fampra/8.4.314. PMID: 1800193.
  20. Huiskes, V.J.B., Cramer-van der Welle, C., Ende, C.H.M. van den, Dijk, L. van, Bos, J.M., et al. Communication about Drug-Related Problems (DRPs) during patients’ visits to Dutch physicians and pharmacies. Health Commun: 2020, 35(2): 201-208. doi: 1080/10410236.2018.1551301. PMID: 30526088.
  21. Honavar SG. Patient–physician relationship – Communication is the key. Indian J Ophthalmol 2018: 66(11): 1527-1528. doi: 4103/ijo.IJO_1760_18. PMID: 30355854. PMCID: PMC6213668.
  22. Amelung D, Whitaker KL, Lennard D, Ogden M, Sheringham J, Zhou Y,  et al. Influence of doctor-patient conversations on behaviours of patients presenting to primary care with new or persistent symptoms: a video observation study. BMJ Qual Saf 2020; 29: 198–208. doi: 1136/bmjqs-2019-009485. PMID: 31326946. PMCID: PMC7057803
  23. Kang L, Nguyen J, Hashmi SZ, Lee SK, Weiland AJ, Mancuso CA. What Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Correlate with Expectations with Trapeziometacarpal Arthritis? Clin Orthop Relat Res 2017;475(11):2704-2711. doi: 1007/s11999-017-5359-9. PMID: 28425053. PMCID: PMC5638728.
  24. Toobaie S, Deh Bozorgi GR. Patients' expectations from internists, psychiatrists and surgeons. Hormozgan Med J 2004; 8(1): 41- [In Persian]. Magiran.com/p194015.
  25. Jackson JL, Chamberlin J, Kroenke K. Predictors of patient satisfaction. Soc Sci Med 2001; 52(4):609-20. doi: 1016/s0277-9536(00)00164-7. PMID: 11206657.
  26. Ahmadi Kahnali R. prioritizing patients' expectations of hospital services quality through using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) (Public hospital in Bandar Abbas Case study). Jhosp 2014; 13(4): 84-91. [In Persian]. URL: http://jhosp.tums.ac.ir/article-1-5098-fa.html.

 

 

Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System
Volume 11, Issue 3
Summer 2023
Pages 426-432

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Guide for Reviewers

Contact Us

Forms