Physician-Patient Communication and its Influence on Satisfaction of Healthcare Services Among Patients Attending OPD in Legon Hospital, Accra-Ghana.

Abstract

Background: Physician-patient relationship is the cornerstone of health care. It has been established that there is a link between clinician-patient communication and health outcomes such as level of satisfaction. The degree of satisfaction a patient experiences with healthcare could be influenced by the quality of the relationship between the physician and the patient. This study determined the influence of physician-patient communication behavior on the satisfaction of healthcare received by patients attending the outpatient department (OPD) in Legon hospital in Accra, Ghana. Method: The study used a mixed-method cross-sectional design. The data was collected using two different approaches. Firstly, a structured questionnaire on physician-patient communication and patient satisfaction of care was administered to consecutive patients attending OPD. Secondly, a checklist of physician communication styles was completed through observation in the consulting room. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the prevalence of good physician-patient communication and the patient’s level of satisfaction. As part of the inferential analysis, chi-square tests were used to assess relationships between categorical variables of interest in the first instance. Result: There was a 56.1% prevalence of good physician-patient communication experienced by patients at the OPD and physicians were observed to show 60% of good physician-patient communication. 65.4% of patients reported a high level of satisfaction with healthcare services. Moreover, the highest mean score of the domains of physician-patient communication was listening with the mean value of 3.2 (80.1%). This was followed by empathy 3.1(77.5%), decision making 2.7(66.9%), respect 2.6(65.2%), and the least was information 2.5(63.3%). Also, 40% of physicians were observed to have used negative talk, open-structured questions, and social non-medical conversation. Good physician-patient communication experience was associated with an increased odds of self-reported patient satisfaction of care (adjusted odds ratio (OR), 2.26 (1.10 to 4.63); p<0.025). Conclusion and Recommendation: The study concludes that the prevalence of good physician-patient communication was fairly above average, and there is evidence of an association between physician-patient communication and satisfaction of care. There is a need for management to consider the improvement and implementation of a health communication policy, particularly research on the ways of reducing negative talk during physician-patient communication.