Assessing patient satisfaction with practitioner communication: patient-centered care, hospital environment and patient trust in the public hospitals

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is increasingly an important concern in worldwide health policy. The purpose of this research is to identify the effect of practitioner-patient communication (PPC) and cleanliness on patient satisfaction (PS), as well as the mediating role of patient trust (PT). Methods: Data were obtained from 497 patients in public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The data were analyzed using AMOS 25 and Structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. Results: The results show that practitioner-patient communication and cleanliness positively impact patient satisfaction. Further, it reveals that patient trust mediates practitioner-patient communication, cleanliness, and patient satisfaction. Conclusion: The findings may benefit research and healthcare policy formulators since they examined the patients’ perspective of practitioner-patient communication, cleanliness, and satisfaction at Outpatient Departments of public hospitals. The study offers important insights for healthcare authorities to devise strategies to improve service delivery in public hospitals and ensure patient satisfaction.