A simple practical patient-reported clinic satisfaction measure for young adults

The development of practical patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) to assess the user view of health programmes is increasingly important. Valid, shorter instruments are more likely to be used and completed than extensive questionnaires.

Consecutive adult outpatient attendees who were long-term survivors of childhood cancer completed the 16-item Patient Satisfaction with Communication Questionnaire (PSCQ). These data were used to develop a three-item questionnaire. The brief PROM was validated against data from a second, independent survey conducted in a similar fashion.

In all, 93 individuals contributed PSCQ data, a response rate of 63%. The brief PROM was highly correlated with the original PSCQ in derivation (ρ=0.87, P<0.001) and validation (ρ=0.82, P<0.001) data sets. Using a cutoff of scores <9 to indicate dissatisfaction showed fair discrimination in derivation (sensitivity 85%, specificity 80%) and validation data sets (sensitivity 75%, specificity 78%).

It is possible to quickly and efficiently assess satisfaction with follow-up clinics with three questions. This brief PROM could prove useful in monitoring services quality by allowing clinic users to provide timely feedback on their care.