Factors Affecting Patient Satisfaction from the Viewpoints of Physicians and Medical Students

Patient satisfaction is one of the key indicators of health care quality. This study aimed to investigate factors affecting patient satisfaction from the viewpoints of physicians and medical students. In this cross-sectional study, a self-administrated questionnaire was completed by 100 medical students of basic sciences and interns. Participants were selected randomly from medical students of Shahed University in 2011. Also the views of 70 physicians attending CME courses in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences were reviewed. Data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire formed on the basis of experts’ opinions and reviewing the literature; it included 29 general questions and attitude measurement items. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire had been verified earlier. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and T- test. Communication skills (4.40±0.82), medical ethics (4.38±0.91), and active listening to patients (4.32±0.88)(out of 5 total scores) were selected by physicians and medical students (interns and basic sciences) as the most influential factors respectively. Focus on patient’s condition was considered as the first priority by the three groups of participants for intervention. Students and physicians believe that patient’s condition and communication skills are the fundamental and important factors affecting patient satisfaction. Therefore, training programs should teach these skills and make positive attitudes in order to implement such techniques in clinical treatments.