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What makes outpatient attendance worthwhile for patients?
1Department of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Quality Assurance in Health Care : the Official Journal of the International Society for Quality Assurance in Health Care
|June 1, 1992
Summary
Patients found outpatient consultations more worthwhile when they lasted over 10 minutes, involved specialist advice, and provided reassurance. These factors can improve healthcare services and guide medical audits.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Patient Experience
- Clinical Services
Background:
- Outpatient clinics are crucial for patient care.
- Assessing patient satisfaction is key to service improvement.
- Understanding factors influencing perceived value in consultations is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key factors patients associate with "very worthwhile" outpatient consultations.
- To provide data for enhancing the quality of care in general medical and surgical outpatient settings.
Main Methods:
- A survey of patients attending 10 general medical and surgical outpatient clinics over one week.
- Patient-completed questionnaires administered during clinic visits.
- Analysis of responses to determine factors correlating with perceived consultation value.
Main Results:
- Consultation duration exceeding 10 minutes was positively associated with patient satisfaction.
- Receiving advice from a specialist significantly contributed to patients feeling consultations were worthwhile.
- Patient reassurance emerged as a critical factor in the perceived value of the consultation.
Conclusions:
- Consultation length, specialist advice, and patient reassurance are vital components of a worthwhile outpatient experience.
- Findings can inform medical audit processes in outpatient departments.
- Implementing these insights may lead to more appropriate and effective patient services.