Causal Effect Analysis of Demographic Concordance of Physician Trust and Respect in an Emergency Care Setting

Objective Patient perceptions of physician trust and respect are important factors for patient satisfaction evaluations. However, perceptions are subjective by nature and can be affected by patient and physician demographic characteristics. We aim to determine the causal effect on patient-physician demographic concordance and patient perceptions of physician trust and respect in an emergency care setting. Methods We performed a causal effect analysis in an observational study setting. A near-real-time patient satisfaction survey was sent via telephone to patients within 72 h of discharge from an emergency department (ED). Patient-trust-physician (PTP) and physician-show-respect (PSR) scores were measured. Patient and physician demographics (age, gender, race, and ethnicity) were matched. Causal effect was analyzed to determine the direct effect of patient-physician demographic concordance on PTP/PSR scores. Results We enrolled 1815 patients. The treatment effect of patient-physician age concordance on PTP scores was -0.119 (p = 0.036). Other treatment effect of patient-physician demographic concordance on patient perception of physician trust and respect ranged from -0.02 to -0.2 (p > 0.05). Conclusion Patient-physician age concordance may cause a negative effect on patient perception of physician trust. Otherwise, patient-physician demographic concordance has no effect on patient perceptions of physician trust and respect.