Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-25-1905

Abstract

The study was intended as a pilot to determine the feasibility and utility of using patient and peer survey instruments to assess participating physician inter-personal and communication skills and humanistic qualities. A longer term objective is to provide practicing physicians constructive insights into their communication and inter-personal effectiveness with patients, peers and other members of the care team. The study relied on a secondary database obtained from the study sponsor. Original data was collected from 100 voluntary participating physicians (PP), 1,000 professional peers (10/PP), and 2,500 patients (25/PP) under the care of the participating physicians. Previously validated peer and patient survey instruments were used to collect data. The patient survey contained 10 items selected to assess various inter-personal and communication skills of importance to patients. The peer survey was comprised of 2 factors; one designed to evaluate medical knowledge and clinical management skills and the second humanistic qualities. The results from both surveys were negatively skewed and clustered near the upper end of the relevant Likert scale. Patient satisfaction scores ranged from 4.7 to 4.8 (scale: 1-5) and peer results from 7.7 to 8.1 (scale: 1-9). Pearson product moment correlation analysis revealed multiple significant correlations between items on the peer and patient surveys. Stepwise regression analysis revealed a significant (beta=.292; p<.05) influence from the humanistic qualities (peer survey) on overall patient satisfaction scores. The pilot study was successful, demonstrating the utility and feasibility ofthe survey instruments and the procedure used to enroll participants. Furthermore, it revealed a high degree of correlation between patient and peer satisfaction with the inter- personal and humanistic qualities evidenced by participating physicians and relationships between elements from both surveys. The relevance ofthese findings and potential improvements that might be adopted in future studies are considered

Keywords

physician, patient

Rights

© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.

Department/Center

Design & Innovation

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