A Cross-Sectional Latent Class Analysis of 3 Distinct Satisfaction Subgroups Among Non-Local Patients in VIP...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Satisfaction Studies
• Health Services Research

Background:

• VIP outpatient clinics offer private practice options for non-local patients needing efficient care.
• Non-local patients often have limited familiarity with medical procedures and timeframes.
• Understanding patient satisfaction is crucial for improving healthcare services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct patient satisfaction classes among non-local patients.
• To determine the factors influencing membership in these satisfaction patterns.
• To analyze latent subgroups and their determinants in a VIP outpatient setting.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 1961 non-local patients at a tertiary hospital's VIP outpatient clinic.
• Quantitative data collection using a 5-point Likert scale for patient satisfaction.
• Latent class analysis (LCA) based on the Structure-Process-Outcome (SPO) Model, with chi-square tests and logistic regression.

Main Results:

• Three latent satisfaction classes were identified: high satisfaction (69.4%), high medical care/low environmental service (19.8%), and low medical professionalism/high non-technical quality (10.8%).
• Key associated factors included patient age, doctor communication length (≤20 min for 71.3%), waiting time, and specific check-up locations.
• Younger patients and those with shorter communication times were noted.

Conclusions:

• Tailored strategies, including addressing psychological needs of younger patients and enhancing doctor communication, can improve healthcare acceptance.
• Optimizing the environment in auxiliary examination departments is recommended to meet non-clinical patient needs.
• Distinct patient satisfaction classes necessitate differentiated approaches in VIP outpatient services.