How to adjust the expected waiting time to improve patient's satisfaction?

External urology consultation quality at a third-level public hospital in Mexico

INTRODUCTION

Patient satisfaction is the degree of conformity with the healthcare they receive. It is real evidence and one of the most important factors in determining the effectiveness and quality of healthcare systems.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the quality of care in the Urology outpatient department of a third-level hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The NHS (National Health Service) 2018 quality of care questionnaire with 11 sections, 133 items, and duration of approximately 25min was randomly administered to 250 patients attending Urology outpatients at a third-level public hospital in Mexico.

RESULTS

According to responses, 92% (n=230) knew the reason for the consultation. 64.8% (n=162) had a consultation with the same physician by whom they were initially seen. The longest reported hospital wait time before being seen was more than 2h in 29.6% (n=74). As for consultation time, 212 patients responded and the duration was 11-20min in 52.8% (n=112). Finally, 33.2% (n=83) considered the quality of service to be good.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of the NHS 2018 survey in the Urology service at a third-level public hospital in Mexico is feasible, since we managed to obtain a significant and continuous improvement in all its indicators which is satisfactory for all.

Patient Satisfaction With Dental Services

Patient satisfaction is an integral aspect of healthcare quality assessment, and it plays a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of healthcare services. This systematic review investigates patient satisfaction with dental services provided by public dental hospitals in rural and remote areas of Saudi Arabia. The study conducted a systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) standards. It involved a comprehensive search across multiple databases, including Medline, Cochrane, Embase, and CINAHL, with tailored search strategies for each database using MeSH terms and keywords. To ensure inclusivity, the search covered publications in both English and Arabic and included Google Scholar for gray literature. Inclusion criteria focused on empirical studies conducted in rural and remote public hospitals in Saudi Arabia, published between 2013 and January 2023, assessing patient satisfaction in oral or dental care for adult patients. Data screening and extraction followed a rigorous two-step process, and a narrative synthesis was used to analyze and summarize the findings. The findings reveal a complex landscape of patient satisfaction in these settings, with varying levels of contentment reported. While more than 50% of patients expressed satisfaction with the quality of dental care, significant challenges related to accessibility were evident. Patients residing in remote and rural areas often had to travel long distances to access dental clinics, resulting in dissatisfaction. Demographic factors, particularly education and age, were identified as significant influencers of patient satisfaction, with more educated individuals tending to be less satisfied. This study emphasizes the importance of continuous monitoring of patient satisfaction to enhance service delivery, particularly in public dental clinics serving remote and rural areas. Addressing issues related to access, availability, clinical quality, and effective communication is vital for improving patient satisfaction in these healthcare settings. The study concludes with recommendations for policymakers, including the development of quality assurance policies, cost mitigation strategies, and targeted interventions to address demographic disparities and enhance patient satisfaction with dental care services.

Effect of waiting time on patient satisfaction in outpatient: An empirical investigation

This study aimed to identify the effect of waiting time on patient satisfaction and the relationship between different types of waiting time. The questionnaire contained 2 parts. The first part included questions about expected waiting time (EWT), reasonable waiting time, tolerance waiting time, and basic personal information. The second part included perceived waiting time (PWT) and satisfaction evaluation. The actual waiting time (AWT) was recorded by the worker. Linear regression was used to analyze the influence of waiting time on satisfaction. Before data collection, this study was approved by the hospital's health ethics committee. In total, 323 questionnaires were collected, of which 292 (90.4%) were valid. The EWT, tolerance waiting time, rational waiting time, and PWT had a significant effect on patient satisfaction (P = .006, P = .043, P = .009, P = .000), whereas AWT had no significant effect on satisfaction (P = .365). The difference between the EWT and AWT had a significant effect on satisfaction (P = .000), while the difference between the PWT and AWT had a significant effect on satisfaction (P = .000). Age, educational background, gender, appointment, and hospital visit experience had no significant effect on patient satisfaction (P = .105, P = .443, P = .260, P = .352, P = .461, respectively). Patient satisfaction with waiting time was not directly affected by AWT, but by subjective waiting times. Furthermore, objective waiting time affects patient satisfaction through the subjective waiting time. Therefore, hospital managers can improve service quality by focusing on adjusting a patient's subjective waiting time while reducing the objective waiting time.