[Patient perceptions and satisfaction of psychiatric services at their discharge]

We conducted a multi-central survey on patient's perception and satisfaction of 31 psychiatric services at their discharge. The subjects were 364 patients who agreed to participate in the survey among 471 discharged patients between August 10th and September 10th, 1997. We excluded 48 patients emergently transferred to another hospitals, 47 patients with dementia or mental retardation, and 12 patients who refused to participate. Of the subjects, 326 patients (89.6%) responded. The rates of patients who rated the psychiatric care positively ranged between 79.4% (Amenity) and 93.6% (Overall satisfaction). Older patients tended to be more satisfied with psychiatric care than younger patients. Patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders rated the psychiatric care more positively, whereas patients with personality disorders rated negatively. Patients with neurosis rated the care positively in informed consent, but negatively in other items. Patients with the 60's score in Global Assessment of Functioning Scale rated higher in nurses and clerks than patients with other scores. Patients who have received their care in non-voluntary admission rated significantly lower in informed consent than other patients. There were no significant correlation of patient satisfaction with former admission and type of ward. Our results indicate that patient satisfaction survey could contribute to improve psychiatric care regarding patient characteristics in Japan.