Physician’s attitude towards unfounded patient complaints

Primacheva A.R.; Sabgayda T.P.; Zubko A.V.; Shinkareva N.V.

doi:https://doi.org/10.17116/medtech20254703154

Primacheva A.R.

Russian Research Institute of Health

ORCID: 0009-0009-4657-6455

Sabgayda T.P.

Russian Research Institute of Health

ORCID: 0000-0002-5670-6315

Zubko A.V.

Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics

ORCID: 0000-0001-8958-1400

Shinkareva N.V.

Semashko National Research Institute of Public Health

ORCID: 0000-0002-3648-9181

Physician’s attitude towards unfounded patient complaints

Authors:

Primacheva A.R., Sabgayda T.P., Zubko A.V., Shinkareva N.V.

More about the authors

Journal: Medical Technologies. Assessment and Choice. 2025;47(3): 54‑60

DOI: 10.17116/medtech20254703154

Read: 310 times

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To cite this article:

Primacheva AR, Sabgayda TP, Zubko AV, Shinkareva NV. Physician’s attitude towards unfounded patient complaints. Medical Technologies. Assessment and Choice. 2025;47(3):54‑60. (In Russ.)
https://doi.org/10.17116/medtech20254703154

Подписка 2026 Медицинские технологии. Оценка и выбор (Medical Technologies. Assessment and Choice)

Использование инфографики авторами научных работ

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the impact of unfounded complaints from patients on emotional state of doctors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Survey included 2.862 doctors from hospitals in the Moscow region.

RESULTS

The vast majority of doctors get satisfaction from work and mostly cope with emotional problems. When receiving complaints from patients about a hospital or a doctor personally, the majority of respondents (86.1% and 83.9%, respectively) feel resentment and indignation «if the complaint is unfair». Doctors receiving satisfaction from work are significantly more likely to react negatively to unfair complaints (83.1% of men versus 84.1% of women). About half of doctors (44.9%) noted that unfounded complaints negatively affect their mood and they «worry for several days or longer». Doctors not getting satisfaction from work worry longer, and those physicians who like it switch to work faster. Respondents rated their mood on a 10-point scale after receiving an unsubstantiated complaint. Mean score was 4.0 points.

CONCLUSION

Unfounded complaints from patients negatively affect the mood and emotional state of doctors, cause resentment and indignation. This can reduce the quality of medical care and increase the number of unfounded complaints. Indeed, this category indicates problems in relationship between physicians and patients, and negative emotional attitude of medical workers worsens these relationships.

Keywords:

unfounded complaints

patient complaints

satisfaction with job

doctor-patient relationship

professional burnout

emotional intelligence of a doctor

Authors:

Primacheva A.R.

Russian Research Institute of Health

ORCID: 0009-0009-4657-6455

Sabgayda T.P.

Russian Research Institute of Health

ORCID: 0000-0002-5670-6315

Zubko A.V.

Federal Research Institute for Health Organization and Informatics

ORCID: 0000-0001-8958-1400

Shinkareva N.V.

Semashko National Research Institute of Public Health

ORCID: 0000-0002-3648-9181

Received:

11.12.2024

Accepted:

20.03.2025

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References:

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