Status and influencing factor analysis of the perception of outpatients pertaining to doctor-patient relationship

Abstract

Objective To learn the current situation and influencing factors of outpatients′ perceptions of doctor-patient relationship, and to generate evidence for effective improvement of outpatients′ perceptions of doctor-patient relationship. Methods Based on the results of the third party evaluation of the National Healthcare Improvement Initiative (2016-2017) in 136 hospitals, we analyzed the outpatients′ perceptions of doctor-patient relationship and its influencing factors. Univariate analysis of the outpatients′ perceptions of doctor-patient relationship (Chi-square test and Wilcoxon rank sum test), and binary logistic regression were conducted to analyze the influencing factors of the outpatients′ perceptions of doctor-patient relationship. Results A total of 29 105 out-patients were included in this study. The average outpatient perception score of doctor-patient relationship was 3.88±0.99, and the median was 4.00. The perception score of outpatients pertaining to doctor-patient relationship was the highest in the eastern regions and lowest in the western regions. That of outpatients from general hospitals was highest than that of those in maternal and child hospitals and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. Patients′ waiting time for consultation, having a fixed physician or general practitioner before visiting, contracting with a community doctor or not, the overall satisfaction, and the household income and insurance coverage were all the influencing factors of the outpatients′ perceptions of doctor-patient relationship (P<0.05). Conclusions There is still a long way to go before the patients can agree with the perception of a better doctor-patient relationship. The critical points for improvement include reducing waiting time for consultation, allocation of more medical resources to the western regions, improving humane care to patients and raising outpatients′ overall satisfactions, especially in the departments of obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics. Key words: Outpatients; Doctor-patient relationship; Cognition; Influencing factors; Regression analysis