Association of occupational burnout and perceived healthcare service quality with medical disputes among physicians and medical technicians: a cross-sectional study in China

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the associations between occupational burnout, perceived healthcare service quality, and medical disputes among physicians and medical technicians, and to identify factors associated with medical disputes from their perspective. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1570 participants in Xuzhou, China, between October and November 2025. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to assess the associations of perceived healthcare service quality and occupational burnout with medical disputes. Results Among 1570 respondents, 283 (18.0%) reported experiencing at least one medical dispute in the past year. Higher perceived healthcare service quality (OR = 0.980, 95% CI: 0.963, 0.997) was associated with lower odds of medical disputes. In contrast, higher occupational burnout (OR = 1.059, 95% CI: 1.037, 1.082), male gender (OR = 2.459, 95% CI: 1.802, 3.357), working 40–55 (OR = 2.006, 95% CI: 1.112, 3.618) or over 55 h per week (OR = 2.408, 95% CI: 1.307, 4.437), seeing 20–30 (OR = 1.725, 95% CI: 1.184, 2.513), 30–40 (OR = 1.734, 95% CI: 1.037, 2.899) or more than 40 patients daily (OR = 1.899, 95% CI: 1.305, 2.765), and turnover intention (OR = 1.741, 95% CI: 1.233, 2.459) were associated with higher odds of disputes. Conclusions Higher burnout levels, longer working hours, and greater daily patient volumes were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting medical disputes, whereas higher perceived healthcare service quality was associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting such experiences. Healthcare organizations may consider implementing interventions that target workload management, burnout reduction, and communication improvement.