The diversity of doctors’ attitudes towards patients in the conditions of financialisation of the health care system. A survey study

Aim of the study: To get acquainted with the opinions of Polish doctors about selected economic, ethical and utilitarian aspects of the doctor-patient relationship in the context of the financing of medical services. Method: Online questionnaire with instructions and invitations to participate in the study, sent via a medical portal. Answers were received from 264 physicians, including 177 women and 87 men, aged between 24 and 67. The differences in sex, age, length of service, place of employment, specialisation and the type of funding were analysed. Results: Male physicians working in hospitals are more willing to make decisions based on simple economic calculations. The study showed age-related differences in professional motivation, willingness to make sacrifices for patients, distrust towards patients, ethical issues, willingness to depend on economic balance and willingness to refuse treatment in order to protect the doctor's personal interests. The type of specialisation differentiated the group in terms of satisfaction with earnings and sense of professional prestige, the degree of distrust towards patients, attitudes to medical records, and readiness to refuse economically unprofitable procedures. The lowest satisfaction with earnings and the lowest sense of professional prestige were declared by psychiatrists. In addition, 77% of the participants did not attribute significant importance to medical standards. Conclusions: Polish doctors are a heterogeneous group in terms of professional motivation, professional prestige and declared attitudes towards patients, which should be taken into account in the organisation of medical services and training of physicians. Changing social and economic conditions influence the development of attitudes that are less focused on the interests of the patient, as indicated by the age-related differences among the surveyed physicians. The low level of importance assigned by doctors to medical standards can have a negative impact on the effectiveness of standardisation of medical services in Poland.