Patient influencing doctor-patient dispute trials: evidence from China

Doctor-patient dispute prevention strategy has become a hot issue in the field of doctor-patient relationship risk management.

To clarify the impact of patient-related factors on the levels of economic compensation awarded to hospitals in medical disputes and on judicial outcomes, thereby providing empirical evidence for optimizing risk management strategies in medical disputes and enhancing the efficiency of judicial proceedings.

A convenience sample of 863 cases was selected, and the data were processed using SPSS 26.0. A comparison of characteristic variables was conducted to examine differences in patient-level hospital economic compensation ratings and dispute trials outcomes. Correlation analysis was performed between dependent and independent variables. Based on these results, a binary/ordinal regression analysis was conducted on the hospital economic compensation ratings / dispute trials outcomes for patients' health losses.

The hospital economic compensation ratings differed significantly by dispute initiator and disability ratings (Ps < 0.001). The hospital economic compensation ratings was positively correlated with dispute trials outcomes, dispute initiator, and doctor-patient relationship risk attributes (Ps < 0.05) and negatively correlated with health damage disability ratings (p < 0.01). The investigated patient factors were "not significantly associated" with dispute trials outcomes in this study (Ps > 0.05). Regression analysis revealed that the disability level of injury and the doctor-patient relationship risk attributes has a significant negative impact on the amount of hospital economic compensation (β = -0.225 & -0.644, p ≤ 0.007).

The patient's health damage disability ratings and doctor-patient relationship risk attributes directly influenced the hospital economic compensation ratings, while the initiator of the dispute and the patient's gender had indirect influences. It is recommended to optimize risk management in medical disputes by strengthening communication between doctors and patients, enhancing mutual trust, and standardizing guidance for patients exercising their rights.