Relationship Between Doctor and Patient: A Psychological Study

Binil Raj S

Abstract: The doctor?patient relationship is a psychologically important component of healthcare because patients evaluate care not only through clinical competence but also through communication, interpersonal behaviour, accessibility, time, and financial experience. The present quantitative study examined patient satisfaction in the context of the doctor?patient relationship from the patient?s perspective. A total of 108 adult respondents participated and completed a socio-demographic data sheet and the RAND Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ-18). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient satisfaction across seven PSQ-18 domains, while Mann?Whitney U, Kruskal?Wallis H, and Spearman?s rank correlation were used to examine differences and associations with selected socio-demographic characteristics. The overall PSQ-18 mean was 65.45 (SD = 8.14), corresponding to an average item score of approximately 3.64 on a five-point scale. Interpersonal manner was the strongest domain (M = 4.20, SD = 0.85), followed by accessibility/convenience (M = 3.94, SD = 0.76) and communication (M = 3.85, SD = 0.60). Time spent with the doctor was the weakest domain (M = 2.86, SD = 0.77), followed by financial aspects (M = 2.94, SD = 0.72). Using descriptive categories developed for this study, 55.6% of respondents had high satisfaction and 44.4% had moderate satisfaction. Satisfaction differed significantly by gender, education, occupation, income, marital status, and healthcare facility, whereas age was not significantly associated with satisfaction. The findings suggest that a generally favourable healthcare experience can coexist with specific psychological and practical areas requiring improvement, particularly adequate consultation time and financial accessibility.

Keywords: doctor-patient relationship, patient satisfaction, PSQ-18, communication, interpersonal manner, healthcare, patient-centred care

How to Cite?: Binil Raj S, "Relationship Between Doctor and Patient: A Psychological Study", Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 2172-2175, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26830120933, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26830120933

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