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Patient complaints about physician behaviors: a qualitative study
Marcia M Wofford1, James L Wofford, Jashoda Bothra
1Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salen, North Carolina 27157, USA. mwofford@ufubmc.edu
Summary
Patient complaints provide valuable insights into physician behavior. Analyzing these complaints revealed key categories like disrespect and poor communication, useful for medical education.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
- Patient Experience Research
Background:
- Healthcare institutions collect patient complaints formally.
- Limited research exists on utilizing patient feedback to enhance physician conduct.
- Understanding patient complaint epidemiology is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To categorize patient complaints related to physician behavior.
- To determine the epidemiology of these complaints.
- To assess the utility of complaint data for improving physician performance.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of a complaint register from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
- Categorization of complaints using March 1999 data (60 complaints) and validation with January 2000 data (122 complaints).
- Analysis of 222 relevant physician-related complaints from the year 2000.
Main Results:
- Disrespect (36%) was the most frequent complaint category, followed by unmet expectations (23%) and inadequate information (20%).
- Other categories included distrust (18%), perceived unavailability (15%), and communication issues (4% each).
- Complaints were most often lodged by patients, followed by spouses and parents.
Conclusions:
- Seven distinct categories of physician behaviors emerged from patient complaints.
- These categories can inform the development of curricula focused on professionalism and communication skills.
- Patient feedback offers a practical resource for medical training and practice-based learning.