Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2014 Volume 142, Issue 9-10, Pages: 579-585
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1410579V
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Patient satisfaction in outpatient healthcare services at secondary level vs. tertiary level
Velikj-Stefanovska Vesna (University “St. Kiril and Metodij”, Medical Faculty, Institute of Epidemiology and Biostatistics with Medical Informatics, Skopje, R. Macedonia)
Stefanovska-Petkovska Miodraga (University American College, School of Business Administration and Organizational Sciences, Skopje, R. Macedonia)
Introduction. Patients satisfaction is a very important part of any clinical
practice both for evaluation and improvement of healthcare services.
Objective. The aim of this study was to determine patient satisfaction with
public outpatient healthcare services at secondary and tertiary level and to
assess possible differences between the two levels. Methods. In a
quantitative cross-sectional study, a convenient sample of 646 patients who
experienced public outpatient healthcare services at the secondary and
tertiary level during the last two months were interviewed. Patient
satisfaction questionnaires, with statements regarding various aspects of
satisfaction, were completed during face-to-face interviews (response rate
84.6%). The research instrument was tested for internal consistency using the
Cronbach’s coefficient alpha estimate. Results. The patients were
significantly more satisfied in tertiary than in secondary outpatient
healthcare facilities in almost all aspects of assessment related to general
settings, nurse/administrative staff performance and physician performance
(p<0.001). The patients in the secondary healthcare services (SHCS) were more
satisfied than in the tertiary healthcare services (THCS) but only regarding
the information on location (83.9% vs.78.3%) and possibilities to enter and
move inside the department (88.8% vs. 83.3%). Analysis of data for SHCS and
THCS showed that there was no significant difference between the mean overall
satisfaction scores with regard to patients’ gender, age, marital status,
educational level, employment and number of visits. Conclusion. There is a
need to improve the current level of patient-provider relationship and
communication, as well as that of hospital environment, while special efforts
should be made to address the problem of patient waiting time and hospital
bureaucracy.
Keywords: outpatient healthcare services, personal satisfaction, health, tertiary healthcare, secondary health care