Is Quality of Patient-Surgeon Relationship associated with consultation duration in hand surgery?
M Azarpira1, F Loisel2, C Rousseau3
1Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Meulan Les Mureaux, Yvelines, France.
Background:
Quality of Patient-Surgeon Relationship (Q-PASREL) is a patient-reported experience instrument that assesses dimensions of the patient-surgeon relationship, including empathy, information transfer, communication, and availability. Higher Q-PASREL scores have been associated with improved patient recovery outcomes following upper-limb surgeries. This study, conducted among hand surgeons, examines whether consultation duration influences these scores.
Methods:
A multicenter observational study was conducted, involving 16 hand surgeons from January 2023 to June 2024. For each surgeon, mean consultation duration and mean Q-PASREL score were calculated from patient questionnaires. Correlations were assessed using Spearman's coefficient.
Results:
A total of 411 Q-PASREL questionnaires were analyzed. Mean consultation duration was 12 min (range 5-20). All surgeons had medium- to high-Q-PASREL scores. Spearman's coefficient between consultation duration and Q-PASREL score was 0.36 (p = 0.169), indicating a weak, statistically non-significant positive correlation.
Conclusion:
High-quality patient-surgeon relationships, as measured by Q-PASREL, were observed across all consultation durations in hand surgery. Consultation duration was not significantly correlated with the Q-PASREL score. Routine use of Q-PASREL does not require extended consultation times.
