The association between GP and patient ratings of quality of care at outpatient clinics

BACKGROUND GPs and patients are frequently asked to evaluate mental health care, but studies including evaluations from both groups are rare. OBJECTIVE To assess the association between GPs' and patients' assessment of mental health outpatient clinic in Norway and identify important health care predictors for patient and GP satisfaction with the clinics. METHODS Two cross-sectional national surveys were carried out: survey of GPs in 2006 and patients in 2007 evaluating outpatient clinics at 69 community mental health centres in Norway. A total of 2009 GPs and 9001 outpatients assessed the clinics by means of a postal questionnaire. Main outcome measures were correlations between GP and patient ratings of the outpatient clinics at the clinic level and health care predictors for patient satisfaction and GP satisfaction with the clinics. RESULTS Clinic scores for GPs' and patients' assessment of waiting time were moderate to highly correlated (0.65), while clinic scores for GP and patient satisfaction had a lower but significant positive association (0.37). Significant positive correlations between clinic scores for GP and patients ratings were found for 38 of the 48 associations tested. The most important predictors for patient satisfaction with the clinics were interaction with the clinician (beta: 0.23) and being met with politeness and respect at the clinic (beta: 0.19), while the most important predictors for GP satisfaction with the clinics were perceived competence (beta: 0.25), rejection of referrals (beta: -0.17) and waiting time for patients (beta: -0.16). CONCLUSIONS A consistent positive association between GP and patient ratings at the clinic level was identified. Mental health services aiming at improving GP and patient satisfaction should be sensitive to the fact that the two groups prioritize different health care factors.