Interprofessional relationships between physicians and hospital administrators across Canada: A quantitative multivariate correlational study

The purpose of the Canadian National Study of Interprofessional Relationships between Physicians and Hospital Administrators (CANSIRPH), a quantitative multivariate correlational study, was to understand how physician leaders and hospital administrators of acute care hospitals across Canada perceive Interprofessional Relationships between Physicians and Hospital Administrators (IRPH). The secondary purpose was to identify which factors influence IRPH and to what degree. The survey link was sent to 4000 e-mail addresses of physician leaders and hospital administrators at mid to senior level of management working at acute care hospitals, chosen from SCOTT's Directories, Canadian College of Healthcare Leaders, Canadian Society of Physician Executives, and Canadian Chapter of ACHE. With a generalizable sample size of n = 215 at alpha level of .01, most Canadian healthcare leaders considered IRPH as the key to success of healthcare system but meaningful differences existed among their level of satisfaction with IRPH. Healthcare leaders at senior level of management were more satisfied than healthcare leaders at mid-level of management. Hospital administrators were more satisfied than physician leaders. Mid-level physician leaders were the least satisfied with IRPH. Multiple Regression Analysis considered seven variables: relative power, adequacy of resources, role capability including leadership, teamwork and communication, financial drivers versus clinical priority, healthcare technology including Information Technology, and financial arrangement of hospitals and physicians with payers (contracts). Influence of seven variables simultaneously was responsible for 60% of the variation in IRPH. Teamwork and communication as well as role capability including leadership showed the most statistically significant correlation with IRPH.