The validity and reliability of the UIMS physician satisfaction survey

Many studies in the medical literature have described patient satisfaction and physician satisfaction as independent concepts, but the relationship between the two is not well studied. In order to address the research question, "What is the relationship between physician satisfaction and patient satisfaction," two surveys have been conducted by the University Internal Medicine Specialist group (UIMS) in the academic, urban, outpatient setting. The patient survey contained questions focusing on the satisfaction of patients. The physician survey focused on questions regarding the satisfaction of physicians with their practice. Before each survey could be conducted, we wanted to determine if each survey was valid and reliable. Good reliability and validity of these surveys would ensure that accurate conclusions are drawn from their results. A pre-existing, validated instrument, Group-Level Consumer Assessment Health Plan Study, (G-CAHPS)) was selected as the patient opinion survey. This report focuses on the validity and reliability of the physician opinion survey (POP) which was developed to suit the UIMS setting.