How do Australian patients rate their general practitioner? A descriptive study using the General Practice Assessment...

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Primary Care Medicine
• Patient Satisfaction Studies

Background:

• Patient satisfaction is a key indicator of healthcare quality.
• The General Practice Assessment Questionnaire (GPAQ) is a validated tool for measuring patient experiences in primary care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient satisfaction with Australian general practitioner (GP) services using the GPAQ.
• To identify factors associated with patient satisfaction in Australian general practice.

Main Methods:

• A clustered cross-sectional study of 7130 patients from 30 general practices in Victoria, Australia.
• Postal administration of the General Practice Assessment Questionnaire (GPAQ) between January and December 2005.
• Analysis using multivariable mixed effects linear regression to identify predictors of satisfaction.

Main Results:

• Overall patient satisfaction with GP care was high, with mean GPAQ scores ranging from 68.6 for access to 84.0 for communication.
• Higher satisfaction was linked to older age, better self-rated health, more frequent GP visits, and consistent attendance with the same GP.
• Australian GPs and practices in the study were rated higher than UK national benchmarks on all GPAQ items.

Conclusions:

• Australian patients generally report high levels of satisfaction with their general practitioner care.
• Factors such as patient age, perceived health status, visit frequency, and continuity of care influence satisfaction levels.
• The findings support the use of GPAQ for assessing patient experiences in Australian primary care settings.