Primary care physician satisfaction with patients diagnosed with depression. International Depression Project results from Colombia

Abstract

Objective: To characterize physician satisfaction with doctor-patient encounters, distinguishing between those involving patients diagnosed with depression and those involving patients without depression, as well as to determine the impact of an educational intervention aimed at improving the recognition and management of depression in primary care practice, in Bogotá, Columbia. Method: Physician satisfaction when treating outpatients in primary care centers was assesed by means of a questionnaire applied before and after the intervention. Results: The intervention was given to 18 physicians and 5 nurses. A total of 1650 questionnaires related to visits were collected in the first phase, and 1832 were collected in the second one. The percentage of patients diagnosed with depression increased from 5.9% (95% CI: 4.8-7.1%) before the intervention to 10.6% (95% CI: 9.2-12.06%) after. The total duration of the clinical encounter did not change significantly. The percentage of time spent on the physical problems/concerns of the patients decreased in both types of visits. Conclusions: Health professional satisfaction was the greatest when dealing with the physical problems of the patient. However, in both types of visits, the degree of satisfaction when dealing with the psychological aspects increased after the intervention.