Relationship between patient satisfaction with medical doctors and the use of traditional Korean medicine in Korea

BACKGROUND: Satisfaction with medical doctor (MD) has been studied as a possible motivation for trying complementary medicine. This study aimed to explore the relationship between Korean outpatients’ satisfaction with their MDs and their use of traditional Korean medicine (KM). METHODS: Data were drawn from the 2011 annual Korea Health Panel, a national representative sample. We analyzed the relationship between outpatients’ use of KM and outpatients’ satisfaction with MDs by using the responses of 9,753 outpatients, including 1,946 KM outpatients. The Andersen behavior model was applied to select the variables. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were tested by Factor Analysis and Cronbach’s alpha. Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate five MD satisfaction indicators (patient’s trust in MD, MD’s careful listening, MD’s sufficient explanation, MD’s consultation time, and MD’s respect for patient) and the overall satisfaction with the MD. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the MD satisfaction of KM users and that of nonusers in any of the 5 indicators of MD satisfaction. When we controlled for all independent variables from the Anderson behavior model, however, the patients’ overall dissatisfaction with MDs was associated with their use of KM (OR = 0.87,0.76–0.99). In addition, the more a patient was dissatisfied with the consultation time of their MD, the more they used KM (OR = 0.82, 072–0.94). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who were dissatisfied with their MD were more likely to use KM; the main indicator affecting MD dissatisfaction was the relatively short time of MD consultations. This could be one reason why KM plays a complementary role with conventional medicine in Korea.