Patient and family satisfaction in a pediatric otolaryngology clinic

Identify factors related to patient/family satisfaction in an academic pediatric otolaryngology clinic and suggest strategies to improve patient and family satisfaction.

Patients and families were surveyed following clinic encounters between May, 2010 and April, 2011. Review of an ongoing continuous quality improvement (CQI) effort. Univariable and multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between reception area and examination room wait times, assessment of the provider, and clinic volume with overall satisfaction.

1415 clinical encounters in the pediatric otolaryngology clinic resulted in 962 responses for a response rate of 68%. Ordinal logistic regression showed a significant relationship between overall satisfaction and satisfaction with the provider (cumulative odds ratio [COR]=51.0; 95% CI: 29.5, 88.2; P<0.001), examination room wait time (COR=23.0; 95% CI: 15.0, 35.1; P<0.001), reception area wait time (COR=13.6; 95% CI: 9.41, 19.8; P<0.001), and increases in clinic volume below 22 patients per day (COR=0.86; 95% CI: 0.75, 0.99; P=0.033). Multivariable analysis showed that satisfaction with provider (COR=32.2; 95% CI: 14.5, 71.8; P<0.001), reception area wait time (COR=3.8; 95% CI: 1.8, 7.6; P<0.001), and examination room wait time (COR=2.8; 95% CI: 1.3, 6.1; P=0.005) were independently associated with overall satisfaction.

Examination room wait times and reception area wait times are associated with overall satisfaction and should be minimized.