Unsolicited Patient Complaints among Otolaryngologists

ObjectivesTo analyze unsolicited patient complaints (UPCs) among otolaryngologists, identify risk factors for UPCs, and determine the impact of physician feedback on subsequent UPCs.MethodsThis retrospective study reviewed UPCs associated with US otolaryngologists from 140 medical practices from 2014 to 2017. A subset of otolaryngologists with high UPCs received peer-comparative feedback and was monitored for changes.ResultsThe study included 29,778 physicians, of whom 548 were otolaryngologists. UPCs described concerns with treatment (45%), communication (19%), accessibility (18%), concern for patients and families (10%), and billing (8%). Twenty-nine (5.3%) otolaryngologists were associated with 848 of 3659 (23.2%) total UPCs. Male sex and graduation from a US medical school were statistically significantly associated with an increased number of UPCs (P = .0070 and P = .0036, respectively). Twenty-nine otolaryngologists with UPCs at or above the 95th percentile received peer-comparative feedback. The in...