WHAT DO PATIENT's EXPECT OF THEIR GENERAL PRACTITIONERS?

OBJECTIVE: To explore patient's expectations before consulting their general practitioners (GPs) and determine the factors that influence them. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was carried out in five primary care centers representing different areas of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to patients before consulting general practitioners. A sample of 944 Saudi patients was randomly selected. RESULTS: 74.6% preferred Saudi doctors, and 92.6% would like to have more laboratory tests for the diagnosis of their illnesses. More than two third of the patients (78.0%) felt entirely comfortable when talking with GPs about the personal aspects of their problems. About half thought that the role of GP was mainly to refer patients to specialists, while 55.2% believed that the GP cannot deal with the psychosocial aspect of organic diseases. The commonest reason for consulting GPs was for a general check up. CONCLUSION: The GP has to explore patients’ expectations so that they can either be met or their impracticality explained. GPs should search for patient's motives and reconcile this with their own practice. GP should be trained to play the standard role of Primary Care Physician.