Attitude of Physicians Toward Patient Experience in Primary Health Care Settings, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Patient experience is defined as reflecting the events in the care process. Therefore, it provides relevant information about the performance of the healthcare system and workers in meeting the patient's needs. It is considered to be an essential outcome of healthcare quality.Objective: This study aims to assess the Attitude of primary health care (PHC) physicians toward patient experience in Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC).Materials and Methods: This study was conducted among working primary healthcare physicians in PSMMC, Saudi Arabia, in March 2022. A three-part self-administered questionnaire was used; the first part was on the participants' sociodemographic, academic, and work profiles. The second part consists of 13 questions assessing the Attitude assessed on a Likert scale of 5 points, and the last part concerns physicians' practice on patient experience. The data that was gathered from the survey was analyzed with the help of SPSS.Results: The total number of participants was 173 physicians representing the PHC physicians in PSMMC, with a response rate of 94%. The average Attitude of PHC physicians toward the Patient experience is (4.33), considered a high level. The best score was given for the definition of patient experience (4.45 points), followed by the role of communication between Physician and patient on patient experience (4.43 points). The lowest score is given to the recommendation to CBAHI to enhance physician-patient communication as an accreditation standard. The SHO category shows the lowest attitude score (3.7909) in comparison with other categories of positions with significant statistical differences. The average Practice of physicians toward patient Experience is (4.15), considered a high level with no statistically significant differences between different categories.Conclusion: This study showed that PHC physicians in PSMMC had an overall positive attitude and Practice toward the patient experience, with the SHO physicians obtaining a lower level than the rest of the categories.