Patient-reported quality of life before, compared with after a DRG intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of the introduction of a payment system based on Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG) on orthopedic patients' perceptions of quality of life after discharge. DESIGN: A prospective longitudinal study performed between 1992 and 1996. SETTING: Two surgical clinics in the County of G?vleborg, Sweden. STUDY PARTICIPANTS: The selection of patients was defined by surgical treatments/diagnoses, and by geographical area. Out of the 40 consecutively recruited patients per year from each hospital, >85% (n = 145 + 140 = 285) completed a questionnaire 1 week post-discharge, and >75% (n = 128 + 127 = 255) did so at a 6-week follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The Swedish Health-Related Quality of Life Survey (SWED-QUAL) was used to assess quality of life. Straight factoral analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were performed to compare years of assessment in the same hospital/district. RESULTS: The results demonstrated no pattern of significant pre-post differences in patient-reported quality of life. In all years, most quality of life ratings were lower at 1 week compared with 6 weeks after discharge. These differences were probably the consequence of recently undergone surgery. CONCLUSION: The overall conclusion is that changes implemented in health care, including the DRGs, had no demonstrable impact on patient ratings of quality of life.     

Patient perceptions of service quality in group versus solo practice clinics.

OBJECTIVE: To compare patient perceptions of service quality at solo and group practices, and to examine the association of perceptions with 'potential patient loyalty' (PPL), the potential for seeking future service from the same clinic. DESIGN: A self-administered, cross-sectional survey of clinic outpatients, using an adapted SERVQUAL questionnaire translated into Chinese, with additional items on overall satisfaction and intent to return/recommend the clinic to others. Sampling and study subjects. Every third outpatient at all newly started group practices (four) and solo clinics (thirteen) in Taiwan in the preceding 4-7 months, including 150 and 50 patients from each group and solo practice, respectively, for a total of 1250 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Perceived service quality on five dimensions-tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy-and PPL. All constructs were measured on a five-point scale. RESULTS: After accounting for random effects of clinical and geographical location, group practice patients perceived significantly higher service quality on all dimensions relative to solo practice patients, after adjusting for age, gender, education, and illness type. All service quality dimensions except assurance were significantly positively associated with PPL after adjusting for age, gender, education, and illness type, and random effects at the clinical and geographical location levels. CONCLUSIONS: Patients perceive better service quality at group practices compared with solo practices on all dimensions. Patients' quality perceptions are significant predictors of PPL. The implications for physician practices both internationally and in Taiwan are discussed, as well as policy implications for the Taiwan government.     

Service quality: A subliminal pathway to service differentiation and competitive advantage in private healthcare marketing in Ghana

The study investigates the role of service quality in Ghana’s private hospitals and its effect on patients’ satisfaction and loyalty. A sample of 622 respondents was drawn using convenience sampling. Structural equation modeling using smart PLS was used to test the measures. The study found a significant positive relationship between service quality and patient satisfaction and also a significant positive relationship between patients’ satisfaction and loyalty and that patients’ satisfaction mediates the relationship between service quality and patients’ loyalty. The study provides a useful guide to policy formulation for private healthcare practitioners.     

Towards patient-centered health services in India--a scale to measure patient perceptions of quality.

OBJECTIVE: . (i) To develop a reliable and valid scale to measure in-patient and outpatient perceptions of quality in India and (ii) to identify aspects of perceived quality which have large effects on patient satisfaction. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of health facilities and patients at clinics. SETTING: Primary health centers, community health centers, district hospitals, and female district hospitals in the state of Uttar Pradesh in north India. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Internal consistency, validity, and factor structure of the scale are evaluated. The association between patient satisfaction and perceived quality dimensions is examined. RESULTS: A 16-item scale having good reliability and validity is developed. Five dimensions of perceived quality are identified-medicine availability, medical information, staff behavior, doctor behavior, and hospital infrastructure. Patient perceptions of quality at public health facilities are slightly better than neutral. Multivariate regression analysis results indicate that for outpatients, doctor behavior has the largest effect on general patient satisfaction followed by medicine availability, hospital infrastructure, staff behavior, and medical information. For in-patients, staff behavior has the largest effect followed by doctor behavior, medicine availability, medical information, and hospital infrastructure. CONCLUSIONS: The scale developed can be used to measure perceived quality at a range of facility types for outpatients and in-patients. Perceived quality at public facilities is only marginally favorable, leaving much scope for improvement. Better staff and physician interpersonal skills, facility infrastructure, and availability of drugs have the largest effect in improving patient satisfaction at public health facilities.     

Patient Influences on Satisfaction and Loyalty for GP Services

Little is known about the influence that patients themselves have on their loyalty to a general practitioner (GP). Consequently, a theoretical framework that draws on diverse literature is proposed to suggest that along with satisfaction, patient loyalty is an important outcome for GPs. Comprising 174 Australian patients, this study identified that knowledgeable patients reported lower levels of loyalty while older patients and patients visiting a GP more frequently reported higher levels of loyalty. The results suggest that extending patient-centered care practices to encompass all patients may be warranted in order to improve patient satisfaction and loyalty. Further, future research opportunities abound, with intervention and dyadic research methodologies recommended.     

社区卫生服务质量调查分析

目的了解南昌市社区卫生服务机构处方质量和就诊居民的满意度．为制定社区卫生服务相关政策及发展规划提供依据。方莹采用系统抽样法,对社区卫生服务机构处方质量进行了调查,采用偶遇法对就诊居民满意度进行了调查。结果261家社区卫生服务机构覆盖社区居民71．04％。社区卫生服务机构单处方用药个数平均为2．58个,静脉点滴、抗生素、二联以上抗生素、激素使用率分别为45．8％、55．6％、7．9％、7．7％,社区卫生服务中心处方质量好于站（P〈0.05）。就诊居民对GHS机构的就诊方便、服务态度、等候时间方面的满意度均在80％以上,对解释／交流、就医环境、设施／设备方面的满意度一般,对服务价格、药品价格、隐私保护方面的满意率在60％以下。结论南昌市社区卫生服务网络构建较为完善,处方质量不高,公共卫生服务相对较弱,价廉特点没有体现。政府应加强管理、正确引导、完善相关政策,确保社区卫生服务健康有序发展。     

Symptom-based framework for assessing quality of HIV care.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate HIV quality of care using a symptom-based, patient-centered framework. METHODS: An expert panel developed 13 quality indicators for three common symptoms: cough with fever and/or shortness of breath; severe or persistent diarrhea; and significant weight loss. A nationally representative probability sample of HIV-infected adults was interviewed between 1996 and 1997. PARTICIPANTS: were asked about the presence and severity of HIV symptoms during the preceding 6 months, and care received. Variation in adherence to the indicators was assessed by symptom type and patient characteristics. RESULTS: In all, 2864 (71%) patients completed interviews and 920 reported being at least moderately bothered with one of the three symptoms. Of these, 41, 74, and 65% of patients with a symptom of cough, weight loss, or diarrhea, respectively, reported receiving all indicated care. Performance was better for patients with more severe HIV, measured as a CD4 cell count <50 cells/microliter, compared with those with less severe HIV, measured as CD4 cell count >500 cells/microliter (43% versus 60%; P = 0.02). Uninsured patients had worse performance than Medicare patients (45% versus 62%; P = 0.04), but care did not differ by patient's age, gender, ethnicity, HIV risk factor, providers' HIV patient load, or region. Only CD4 count remained significantly associated with performance in the multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom-based quality indicators may provide a useful supplement to conventional measures. Patients with HIV reported substantial underuse of services for common, burdensome symptoms. Although adherence to quality indicators was better for patients with more advanced HIV disease, many still received suboptimal care. Vulnerable patient groups generally did not receive worse quality of care, suggesting that symptom-based measures of quality may measure domains that are distinct from those captured by conventional indicators.     

48th Congress on Medical Education and Licensure Discusses Current Problems

The purpose of this article is to describe how one multidisciplinary hospital responded to patient-satisfaction issues and improved communication throughout its organization by implementing a real-time assessment of patient and staff satisfaction for a faster and better-focused improvement process. The survey process is based on elicting information from several different sources in a manner that allow corrective action plans to be made and implemented within 4 to 8 weeks of patient encounters. Organized groups can then review feedback from the implemented action plans within 9 to 16 weeks of patient encounters. This 4-month process is repeated on a quarterly basis, as lessons learned from the previous cycle are fed into the upcoming survey process for continuous patient-satisfaction improvement. Employees, faculty, and administrators have accepted the Real-Time Patient Satisfaction Survey and Improvement Process as a routine activity within the normal operating structure at the Moffitt Cancer Center. This activity of problem identification—action—feedback has been well integrated in the system and will continue to rotate throughout all patient care clinical services at the Moffitt Cancer Center. The program has become a method for goal-setting and establishing management accountability. As an adaptation of continuous quality improvement, The Real-Time Patient Satisfaction Survey and Improvement Process at the Moffitt Cancer Center is applicable for use in other hospitals and cancer centers in the United States. The general design, materials, and analysis plan can be directed toward the needs of the specific institution (and are available for distribution by contacting the authors).     

Informal complaints on health services: hidden patterns, hidden potentials.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of informal complaints on health services among clients of Health Maintenance Organizations, and explore demographic correlates. Such complaints are a potentially important source of information regarding quality of healthcare. METHOD: Primary data were collected by a phone survey from a nationwide random sample of 1500 persons aged 21+ in Israel. RESULTS: About 25% of the respondents reported a cause to complain, but only 9.5% actually complained. About 75% of the complainants submitted their grievances informally at the local level. Only a minority (17%) appealed to official bodies established by law. Minority groups and recent immigrants had significantly lower rates of reasons to complain and actual complaints. CONCLUSIONS: Suggestions are made for outreach efforts to socially vulnerable groups and for developing organizational mechanisms for capturing and using future complaints submitted informally to front-line employees, which are the bulk of the complaints. Further research is needed regarding factors affecting customers complaining and non-complaining behavior, including factors that specifically affect the behavior of minority groups.     

构成医疗服务质量诸要素的特性剖析

探讨医疗质量与服务质量关系,依照医学模式的转变,将二者归并,并从其构成技术性服务、生活性服务、心理性服务、教育性服务诸方面的内在特性进行分析,以便更好地做好医疗服务质量的控制与管理工作.     

Associations between technical quality of diabetes care and patient experience

Aims It has long been held that high‐quality care has both technical and interpersonal aspects. The nature and strength of any association between both aspects remain poorly explored. This study investigated the associations between diabetes patients’ reports of receiving recommended care (as measures of technical quality) and their experience and ratings (as measures of interpersonal care). Methods Using data from a cross section of 3096 patients with diabetes nested within 24 diabetes‐care‐networks, we conducted multilevel regression analysis of the relationships between nine indicators of receiving care recommended in practice guidelines and: six scales of patient experience and global ratings of general practitioner, nurses, and overall diabetes care. Results On average, reporting having received recommended care was associated with reporting better patient experience and ratings. The extent and frequencies of these associations varied across the different care processes. Receiving foot examination, physical activity advice, smoking status check, eye examination, and HbA_1c testing, but not nutritional advice, urine, cholesterol or blood pressure checks, were statistically associated with better patient experience and global ratings. Those who received HbA_1c testing rated their overall care 1.002 points higher (95% confidence interval: 0.726–1.278) on a scale of 0–10 than those who did not. Conclusions Higher self‐reported technical quality of care in diabetes appears to be frequently but not always associated with better experiences and ratings. It is possible that the former leads to the latter and/or that both share a common cause within providers. Both care aspects do not seem interchangeable during performance assessment.     

Mothers' perspectives on the quality of postpartum care in Central Shanghai, China.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate mothers' perspectives on the quality of postpartum care services in central Shanghai, China. DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews. SETTING: Two maternal and child health posts in two subdistricts in LW District, Central Shanghai, China. STUDY PARTICIPANTS: Fifty postpartum mothers who attended the maternal and child health posts in the two subdistricts in LW District, Central Shanghai, China. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mothers' perceived quality and adequacy of postpartum services. RESULTS: A majority of the mothers (90%; n = 45) were primiparas (first time mothers). Half did not consider the postpartum services to be of high quality. They defined high quality as 'full satisfaction of the mother and the child'. Their perception of quality was influenced by their concern about child care, an area in which they expressed the need for further improvement. CONCLUSION: Mothers indicated that to improve quality of services further, greater emphasis should be placed on: (1) health education on childcare; (2) more time allocation for discussion with health workers during their postpartum home visits so their questions and concerns could be addressed effectively; (3) access to health workers in times of need rather than during officially prescribed home visits; and (4) provision of continuous training for maternal and child health workers with respect to childcare. The findings will be relevant to health workers and policy makers involved in planning and implementation of maternal and child health services in similar urban settings in developing countries.     

Quantitative comparison of measurements of urgent care service quality

ABSTRACT

Service quality and patient satisfaction are essential to health care organization success. Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry introduced SERVQUAL, a prominent service quality measure not yet applied to urgent care. We develop an instrument to measure perceived service quality and identify the determinants of patient satisfaction/ behavioral intentions. We examine the relationships among perceived service quality, patient satisfaction and behavioral intentions, and demonstrate that urgent care service quality is not equivalent using measures of perceptions only, differences of expectations minus perceptions, ratio of perceptions to expectations, and the log of the ratio. Perceptions provide the best measure of urgent care service quality.     

开展优质护理服务对病人满意度的影响

目的?研究提供优质的护理服务对提高病人满意度的影响.方法?随机抽取我科2011年1月—6月及2012年1月—6月各200例住院病人,采用我院自行设计的《护理工作调查表》进行满意度调查.结论?实施优质护理服务后病人满意度对比之前有了较大提高,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),因此需要坚持以病人为中心,进一步提升护理服务,提高病人满意度.     

性别分析在医院服务质量评价和管理中的应用

目的通过住院病人体验和满意监测数据分析,探讨病人性别对医疗服务的期望和满意,以及对评价医疗服务质量的影响,为针对病人特点提供以患者为中心的医院服务提供科学的依据。方法北京的三所医院采用病人满意度监测工具VPSM对住院病人进行邮寄调查,对总体服务指数、各服务阶段质量指数,以及各监测项目进行病人性别间比较分析和统计检验。结果性别间的总体质量指数差异无显著性。各阶段质量指数中,男女病人的可及性和入院服务指数分别为2.98和2.72(p<0.05);男女病人的物理环境指数分别为2.86和2.49(p<0.01)。某些特定监测项目男病人的体验评价高于女病人。结论住院男女病人之间对住院服务体验和满意在总体上和大多数技术性服务方面是相同的,但女病人对人际服务质量和非医学服务,特别是入院服务和物理环境有较高期望。病人对服务体验和质量评价上的性别差别,提示特定病人具有的特定服务期望和需要,应有针对性地满足他们的需要,最大化地实现病人期望,不断提高医院整体服务水平。     

Influence of Shared Medical Appointments on Patient Satisfaction: A Retrospective 3-Year Study

PURPOSE

Shared medical appointments (SMAs) are becoming popular, but little is known about their association with patient experience in primary care. We performed an exploratory analysis examining overall satisfaction and patient-centered care experiences across key domains of the patient-centered medical home among patients attending SMAs vs usual care appointments.

METHODS

We undertook a cross-sectional study using a mailed questionnaire measuring levels of patient satisfaction and other indicators of patient-centered care among 921 SMA and 921 usual care patients between 2008 and 2010. Propensity scores adjusted for potential case mix differences between the groups. Multivariate logistic regression assessed propensity-matched patients’ ratings of care. Generalized estimating equations accounted for physician-level clustering.

RESULTS

A total of 40% of SMA patients and 31% of usual care patients responded. In adjusted analyses, SMA patients were more likely to rate their overall satisfaction with care as “very good” when compared with usual care counterparts (odds ratio = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05–1.52). In the analysis of patient-centered medical home elements, SMA patients rated their care as more accessible and more sensitive to their needs, whereas usual care patients reported greater satisfaction with physician communication and time spent during their appointment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, SMA patients appear more satisfied with their care relative to patients receiving usual care. SMAs may also improve access to care and deliver care that patients find to be sensitive to their needs. Further research should focus on enhancing patient-clinician communication within an SMA as this model of care becomes more widely adopted.