Characteristics of complaints resulting in disciplinary actions against Danish GPs

OBJECTIVE: The risk of being disciplined in connection with a complaint case causes distress to most general practitioners. The present study examined the characteristics of complaint cases resulting in disciplinary action. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Danish Patients’ Complaints Board's decisions concerning general practice in 2007 were examined. Information on the motives for complaining, as well as patient and general practitioner characteristics, was extracted and the association with case outcome (disciplinary or no disciplinary action) was analysed. Variables included complaint motives, patient gender and age, urgency of illness, cancer diagnosis, healthcare settings (daytime or out-of-hours services), and general practitioner gender and professional seniority. RESULTS: Cases where the complaint motives involved a wish for placement of responsibility (OR = 2.35, p = 0.01) or a wish for a review of the general practitioner's competence (OR = 1.95, p = 0.02) were associated with increased odds of the general practitioner being disciplined. The odds of discipline decreased when the complaint was motivated by a feeling of being devalued (OR = 0.39, p = 0.02) or a request for an explanation (OR = 0.46, p = 0.01). With regard to patient and general practitioner characteristics, higher general practitioner professional seniority was associated with increased odds of discipline (OR = 1.97 per 20 additional years of professional seniority, p = 0.01). None of the other characteristics was statistically significantly associated with discipline in the multiple logistic regression model. CONCLUSION: Complaint motives and professional seniority were associated with decision outcomes. Further research is needed on the impact of professional seniority on performance

Patient Complaint Cases in Primary Health Care: What Are the Characteristics of General Practitioners Involved?

Background. Limited knowledge exists about factors increasing the risk of general practitioners becoming involved in a complaint case or getting disciplined in connection with a complaint case. Aim. The present study aimed to identify the general practitioner and practice characteristics associated with complaint cases and discipline. Methods. Information on general practitioners involved in complaint case decisions during one year (2007) was linked to Danish National register data on all general practitioners (). Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis. Results. With regard to complaints concerning daytime services (), the professional seniority of the general practitioner was positively associated with the odds of receiving a complaint decision (OR = 1.44 per 20 years of seniority; CI 95%, 1.04–1.98). Likewise, having more consultations per day was associated with increased odds (OR = 1.29 per 10 extra consultations per day; CI 95%, 1.07–1.54). No statistically significant association could be demonstrated between being disciplined and general practitioner or practice characteristics. Conclusion. The possible relationship between professional seniority, rate of consultations, and complaint cases merits further studies to clarify the impact of professional seniority and workload on professional performance and to furthermore consider the role of factors such as job content and communication styles