Measuring Patient Perceptions of the Patient-Doctor Interaction

Abstract

Patient satisfaction has been related to patient compliance, doctor-patient information exchange, and continuity of care. However, the construct of patient satisfaction is not well defined; its measurement has typically consisted of the anecdotal generation of questions that may not tap issues of concern to patients. Generally, neither reliability nor validity of the measurement instruments are considered. The present study investigated the construct of patient satisfaction and developed the Smith-Falvo Patient-Doctor Interaction Scale (PDIS), a patient satisfaction scale based on empirically derived dimensions of patient satisfaction. The project consisted of three studies. The first study involved the generation of physician behavior descriptions by 22 family practice center patients. The resultant 1540 descriptions were grouped into 80 reliable categories. In Study 2, a sample of 30 patients rated the behavior descriptions on a 9-point scale from most preferred to least preferred. Multidimensional scaling techniques were applied to the preference ratings, resulting in the identification of two dimensions: general health care delivery and inappropriate interpersonal interactions. The PDIS was then constructed from items salient to these two dimensions. Outcome of the investigation ofthe reliability and validity of the PDIS in a third study was quite positive.