Disruptive physician behaviors and their impact on patient care in a health insurance hospital in Alexandria, Egypt.

BACKGROUND: Disruptive behavior is the use of inappropriate words, actions, or inactions by physicians that interferes with their ability to function well with others. It is a current problem in the medical profession and has become a focus of public health attention due to its destructive impact on hospital staff, institutions, and quality patient care.

AIM: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the perceptions of physicians about disruptive physician behaviors, and their frequency and impact on clinical outcomes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out in one of the hospitals of the Health Insurance Organization in Alexandria, Egypt. A self-administered questionnaire based on the American College of Physician Executives and QuantiaMD Survey on disruptive physician behavior was used to measure the physicians' perceptions. It was distributed to all physicians in all the departments (n=183). The number of returned questionnaires was 120, with a response rate of 65.6%.

RESULTS: Most of the respondents (93.3%) were concerned about disruptive physician behavior, 39.2% previously had such behaviors, and 78.3% had one incident at least monthly. Most respondents (98.3%) said that disruptive physician behavior affects patient care. Physicians agreed that they needed training on how to deal with disruptive behavior. The most frequent behavior was refusal to cooperate with other providers (74.2%). Disruptive behavior was attributed to workload by 35% of the respondents.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Disruptive physician behaviors are common in healthcare settings, with the most frequent behavior being refusal to cooperate with other providers. Training of physicians on team dynamics, communication skills, conflict management, and stress management is highly recommended.