Critical care: Are we customer friendly?

Area of Science:

• Critical Care Medicine
• Patient Experience Research
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Family satisfaction is crucial for comprehensive intensive care.
• Limited Indian data exists on family perceptions of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) care.
• Understanding family perspectives is key to improving ICU services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore family satisfaction levels in an Indian semi-open ICU.
• To determine if family satisfaction differs between patients managed by intensivists versus nonintensivists.
• To identify areas of high and low satisfaction within the ICU environment.

Main Methods:

• Survey administered to family members of 200 consecutive ICU patients (stay >3 days).
• Utilized an adapted, internationally validated family satisfaction survey with 15 questions on a Likert scale (1-4).
• Data collected on patient care, medical counseling, staff interaction, visiting hours, and facilities.

Main Results:

• 100% response rate from 200 surveyed family members.
• Highest satisfaction reported for patient care (94.5%), lowest for visiting hours (60.5%).
• No statistically significant difference in satisfaction scores between intensivists' and nonintensivists' patients across all categories.

Conclusions:

• Family members expressed satisfaction with ICU care and communication, regardless of intensivist or nonintensivist management.
• Families indicated a preference for open visiting hours over time-limited policies.
• Findings suggest a need to re-evaluate visiting hour policies to enhance family experience.