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Effect of emergency department information on patient satisfaction
1Emergency Medicine Center, UCLA School of Medicine.
Study Hypothesis:
Patient satisfaction with emergency department care is enhanced by information distributed to patients on ED arrival.
Participants And Setting:
A convenience sample of 200 alert, English-speaking, adult ED patients.
Design And Intervention:
ED information was distributed on alternate days to all ED patients. The ED information described ED function and patient evaluation time. Patients not receiving ED information served as controls. A research assistant administered a satisfaction questionnaire to all patients immediately after discharge.
Measurements And Main Results:
Patients who received ED information rated their overall satisfaction higher than did the control group (P < .0001). Other items rated significantly higher were physician skill and competence (P = .0112), physician concern and caring (P = .0062), whether the patient would use the same ED again (P < .0001), appropriateness of ED time (P = .01), information received (P < .0001), ability of staff to decrease anxiety (P < .0001), physician's explanation of illness and treatment (P = .0366), and ease and convenience of care (P = .0014).
Conclusion:
ED information has a significant effect on patients' perceptions of the quality of care and overall satisfaction.