Defining quality categories for evaluation of the doctor–patient relationship assessed through the patient–doctor relationship questionnaire (PDRQ-9).

This article focuses on establishing quality categories for the Patient–Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) score to improve the assessment of doctor–patient relationships in primary healthcare. Using latent class analysis on data from 6,160 Brazilian primary care users, two distinct response profiles were identified: one indicating a high-quality relationship and another indicating a moderate-quality relationship. A cut point of 3.5 (on a 1–5 scale) or 31 (on a 9–45 scale) was determined to differentiate these categories with high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. This categorization aims to enhance the interpretability of PDRQ-9 results, supporting targeted interventions to foster empathy, communication, and trust in healthcare settings. The study emphasizes that these findings are based on the Brazilian public primary care context and suggests further research to validate and expand the use of these categories in other populations.