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Physician Identification and Patient Satisfaction: Are They Related?
The Journal of Emergency Medicine, Vol. 50, No. 3, p. e175, 2016 Copyright Ó 2016 Elsevier Inc. Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0736-4679/$ - see front matter
Letter to the Editor , PHYSICIAN IDENTIFICATION AND PATIENT SATISFACTION: ARE THEY RELATED?
The results of studies on this issue in our country (Iran) are mixed and controversial. Various other parameters can also affect patient satisfaction. They include waiting time, physician identification, cultural differences, general health coverage, different structures for health care systems, physician identification, and so on. Therefore, additional research should be conducted on this issue. Also, as argued in three recent publications appearing in the Telemedicine and e-Health Journal and coauthored by one of us, patient satisfaction could also be affected by the means of delivering services (4–6). In addition, additional studies are needed to determine the impact of interventions to improve patients’ ability to identify with their physicians more easily and to shorten their waiting times.
, To the Editor: We read with interest the recent article by Mercer et al. (1). According to their results, of 486 patients, approximately 25% knew their doctors and were in contact with them. Overall patient satisfaction among this group was higher than patients who did not know their doctors (combined mean satisfaction score of 8.1 vs. 7.2, respectively; odds ratio [OR], 1.07). In addition, overall satisfaction among parents and guardians of pediatric patients was more than that of adult patients. Similarly, patients with shorter waiting times indicated higher satisfaction than those with longer times (satisfaction score of 8.2 for a shorter waiting time vs. 5.6 for a longer waiting time; OR, 1.15). For patients transported by ambulance, parameters such as knowledge and courtesy of physician decreased patient satisfaction (1). Vahidi et al. focused on the same subject in teaching hospitals at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (2). In these teaching hospitals, most services are delivered by medical students, interns, and residents as opposed to clinical academic specialists. Therefore, as in emergency departments, little opportunity exists for patients to know their doctors. Vahidi et al. concluded that a statistically significant correlation exists between patient satisfaction and amount of patient–physician interaction and knowledge (p < 0.01). This makes the two studies comparable, and therefore should make their results generalizable. On the other handdand in contrast with the study by Mercer et al.din the Vahidi et al. study, no correlation was found between knowing the physician and level of satisfaction (p > 0.05) (2). The important role the patient–physician relationship plays in determining the level of satisfaction with the treatment process was also investigated by another group. Based on this study by Shakeriniva, a lack of this relationship not only can bring about patient dissatisfaction but can also impose a high range of costs on the health care system, and generates a negative attitude among the public towards the delivery of health care (3).
Taha Nasiri, MSC, PHD CANDIDATE Health Management Research Center Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran Ahmad Fayaz-Bakhsh, MD, MSC, PHD Health Information Management Research Center School of Allied Medical Sciences; and School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.03.046
REFERENCES 1. Mercer MP, Hernandez-Broussard T, Mahadevan M, Strehlow M. Physician identification and patient satisfaction in the emergency department: are they related? J Emerg Med 2014;46:711–8. 2. Vahidi RG, Kaffashi S, Narimani MR, et al. Correlation between knowledge and satisfaction of patients from patient– physician relationship. J Health Promot Manage 2013;2:66–73. In Persian. 3. Shakerinia I. Physician–patient relationship and patient’s satisfaction. Iranian J Med Ethics Hist Med 2009;2:9–16. [In Persian]. 4. Nouhi M, Fayaz-Bakhsh A, Mohamadi E, Shafii M. Telemedicine and its potential impacts on reducing inequalities in access to health manpower? Telemed J E Health 2012;18:648–53. 5. Fayaz-Bakhsh A, Yousefi A. Regarding “Comparison of parent satisfaction with care for childhood obesity delivered face-to-face and by telemedicine.” Telemed J E Health 2013;19:648–9. 6. Fayaz-Bakhsh A, Goodarzi Z. Critical look at the user satisfaction with asynchronous telemedicine. Telemed J E Health 2013;19:568–9.
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Letter to the Editor , PHYSICIAN IDENTIFICATION AND PATIENT SATISFACTION: ARE THEY RELATED?
The results of studies on this issue in our country (Iran) are mixed and controversial. Various other parameters can also affect patient satisfaction. They include waiting time, physician identification, cultural differences, general health coverage, different structures for health care systems, physician identification, and so on. Therefore, additional research should be conducted on this issue. Also, as argued in three recent publications appearing in the Telemedicine and e-Health Journal and coauthored by one of us, patient satisfaction could also be affected by the means of delivering services (4–6). In addition, additional studies are needed to determine the impact of interventions to improve patients’ ability to identify with their physicians more easily and to shorten their waiting times.
, To the Editor: We read with interest the recent article by Mercer et al. (1). According to their results, of 486 patients, approximately 25% knew their doctors and were in contact with them. Overall patient satisfaction among this group was higher than patients who did not know their doctors (combined mean satisfaction score of 8.1 vs. 7.2, respectively; odds ratio [OR], 1.07). In addition, overall satisfaction among parents and guardians of pediatric patients was more than that of adult patients. Similarly, patients with shorter waiting times indicated higher satisfaction than those with longer times (satisfaction score of 8.2 for a shorter waiting time vs. 5.6 for a longer waiting time; OR, 1.15). For patients transported by ambulance, parameters such as knowledge and courtesy of physician decreased patient satisfaction (1). Vahidi et al. focused on the same subject in teaching hospitals at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (2). In these teaching hospitals, most services are delivered by medical students, interns, and residents as opposed to clinical academic specialists. Therefore, as in emergency departments, little opportunity exists for patients to know their doctors. Vahidi et al. concluded that a statistically significant correlation exists between patient satisfaction and amount of patient–physician interaction and knowledge (p < 0.01). This makes the two studies comparable, and therefore should make their results generalizable. On the other handdand in contrast with the study by Mercer et al.din the Vahidi et al. study, no correlation was found between knowing the physician and level of satisfaction (p > 0.05) (2). The important role the patient–physician relationship plays in determining the level of satisfaction with the treatment process was also investigated by another group. Based on this study by Shakeriniva, a lack of this relationship not only can bring about patient dissatisfaction but can also impose a high range of costs on the health care system, and generates a negative attitude among the public towards the delivery of health care (3).
Taha Nasiri, MSC, PHD CANDIDATE Health Management Research Center Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran Ahmad Fayaz-Bakhsh, MD, MSC, PHD Health Information Management Research Center School of Allied Medical Sciences; and School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2015.03.046
REFERENCES 1. Mercer MP, Hernandez-Broussard T, Mahadevan M, Strehlow M. Physician identification and patient satisfaction in the emergency department: are they related? J Emerg Med 2014;46:711–8. 2. Vahidi RG, Kaffashi S, Narimani MR, et al. Correlation between knowledge and satisfaction of patients from patient– physician relationship. J Health Promot Manage 2013;2:66–73. In Persian. 3. Shakerinia I. Physician–patient relationship and patient’s satisfaction. Iranian J Med Ethics Hist Med 2009;2:9–16. [In Persian]. 4. Nouhi M, Fayaz-Bakhsh A, Mohamadi E, Shafii M. Telemedicine and its potential impacts on reducing inequalities in access to health manpower? Telemed J E Health 2012;18:648–53. 5. Fayaz-Bakhsh A, Yousefi A. Regarding “Comparison of parent satisfaction with care for childhood obesity delivered face-to-face and by telemedicine.” Telemed J E Health 2013;19:648–9. 6. Fayaz-Bakhsh A, Goodarzi Z. Critical look at the user satisfaction with asynchronous telemedicine. Telemed J E Health 2013;19:568–9.
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