Physicians’ Overwork Impacts Patient Satisfaction via Physician-Nurse Collaboration and Patients’ Medical Risk Perception in China

Kairu Zhou,1,* Yuwen Xin,2,* Min Li,3 Li Chen4 1School of Public Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, People’s Republic of China; 2Anesthesiology Department, the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology, Hefei, 230001, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Clinical Research, the Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510317, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Li Chen, Department of Clinical Research, The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510317, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected] and Objective: To enhance healthcare service quality and foster harmonious doctor-patient relationships, it is necessary to explore the impact of physicians’ overwork on patient satisfaction, with the mediating roles of physician-nurse collaboration and patients’ medical risk perception in these relationships.Methods: Using a stratified random sampling method, questionnaire surveys were conducted from June to September 2023 among 90 physicians and 550 inpatients in 13 Grade A tertiary public hospitals across five provinces in China. This survey collected data on physicians’ overwork, physician-nurse collaboration, patient’s medical risk perception, and patient satisfaction. The data were analyzed using the PROCESS macro (Model 6) in SPSS 23 to examine the chain mediation model.Results: A total of 81 physicians and 512 inpatients were included. Physicians’ overwork had a significant negative effect on patient satisfaction (β = − 0.426, p < 0.001). Physician-nurse collaboration (β = 0.463, p < 0.001) and patients’ medical risk perception (β = − 0.260, p < 0.001) acted as partial mediators, accounting for 24.41% and 5.87% of the total effect, respectively. Furthermore, physicians’ overwork indirectly affected patient satisfaction through a chain mediation pathway involving physician-nurse collaboration followed by patients’ medical risk perception (β = − 0.014, p < 0.001), accounting for 3.29% of the total effect.Conclusion: Physicians’ overwork demonstrates a significant negative predictive effect on patient satisfaction, encompassing both direct and indirect effects mediated by physician-nurse collaboration and patients’ medical risk perception. To improve healthcare quality and satisfaction, governments should address physicians’ overwork and patient risk perception. Future research could explore physician-patient trust as a mediator or analyze how different dimensions of risk perception influence chain-mediated pathways.Keywords: medical risk perception, physicians‘overwork, patient satisfaction, physician-nurse collaboration