Abstract
Background: Physicians' satisfaction regarding plan of care can substantially affect their performance and impact patient care. Therefore, by knowing the determinants or factors of satisfaction one can establish suggestions to enhance this satisfaction and thereby ensure better patient' outcomes and high quality care.
Method: The current study was carried out to assess the level of satisfaction and its determinants (associated factors) among Abha city physicians. A cross-sectional study was conducted by means of a questionnaire from October 2018 to June 2019 among physicians in 3 governmental hospitals and primary health care centers in Abha city (n = 385) to evaluate their satisfaction (according to scale) and documentation of a treatment plan, of whom 354 (92%) doctors responded.
Results: The mean age of participants was 34.2. More than half of physicians were male (57.3%) and most of them were Saudi (70.6%). A significant proportion of participants have less than 5 years of experience (47.2%). The majority of participants were found to be satisfied (79.9%). Several factors were found to be associated with satisfaction (p < 0.05) including dealing with opposite sex patients, ability to apply informed consent, relationship with colleagues, availability of supporting staff, supportive practice for new ideas, restriction on and availability of facility services, availability of feedback, health record system, demanding patients, ability to self-update during consultation, ability to do proper consultations, minimal ER cases interruption, age, nationality, level of training, years of experience, duration of consultation, availability of free time, and level of plan documentation.
Conclusion: Although this study had several limitations, the associated factors have helped establish several recommendations that can potentially further improve the physician's satisfaction with their plan.