Assessment of Patient Satisfaction of the Quality of Health Care Provided by Outpatient Services of an Oncology Hospital

Abstract

Aim:The purpose of this research is to investigate the patient’s satisfaction (patient’s satisfaction) with medical services provided in Outpatients’ Departments of a Greek Anti-Cancer Hospital in morning and afternoon clinics. The assessment of patients and identification of factors that contribute to their satisfaction will highlight the organizational and operational problems of outpatient department and assist in finding solutions to upgrade the quality of services provided.Material and Methodology:For the collection of data, a questionnaire with closed answers in a five-point scale ‘Likert’ scale was used. The questions were related to demographics, social data users, and the overall service process in the outpatient Hospital. The sample consisted of 100 patients (RR: 76%) who visited the outpatient clinic in the morning or afternoon over a month long period of time.Results:The results of our research showed that cancer patients reported a high satisfaction rate with the health services provided in outpatient department of Anti-Cancer Hospital. The highest reported levels of satisfaction were related to working with medical staff because of the special relationship of trust that patients develop with their physician. Some problems were noted during the morning shift by patients. Patients reported frustration over long waiting times to get an appointment, last minute appointments, lack of flexibility when making appointments and long waiting times before being examined by a doctor. No statistically significant relationship was found between overall satisfaction with demographics’ and other factors, although the grading services seem to be affected by the health status of patients, education and sex.Conclusion:The problems that were identified leading to less patient satisfaction were the long waiting periods to get an appointment, last minute appointments, non-flexibility in making appointments and long waiting times to be examined by the doctor. Administration should increase its efforts to upgrade the quality of health care provided to oncology patients by taking all the necessary measures.

Factors influencing patient satisfaction: assessment in outpatients in dermatology department

“…Paying attention to the patient's symptoms as well as the physician's interest in the patient's medical problems are other very important factors for patient satisfaction. These results are consistent with previous studies conducted in dermatology and other specialties that showed that overall satisfaction is significantly influenced by the ability of the physician to focus on the patient's health and to give them explanations. Patients aged 50 years and older, who represent a significant portion of patients consulting a dermatologist, were also the most satisfied , which is a result found in various studies of satisfaction among outpatient and hospitalized patients.…”

Cancer patients' perceptions of quality‐of‐care attributes—Associations with age, perceived health status, gender and education

“…In this study, care quality was assessed using patient‐centred quality, individualised care and trust in nurses' instruments and we did not find any associations, between gender, education levels and assessments of care quality attributes within the age‐related subgroups,. This finding supports some earlier findings (Pini et al., ) but contradicts many others (e.g., Arraras et al., ; Ejaz et al., ; John et al., ; Wessels et al., ). Previous studies have suggested that perceived health status is associated with patients' assessments of quality care attributes (Brennan et al., ; Nguyen et al., ; Tremblay et al., ) and age (Browall et al., ; John et al., ).…”

“…Patients' assessments of quality‐of‐care attributes in relation to their health status are rarer than studies on age and education levels. In one study, cancer patients' satisfaction was not associated with the perceived health status (Pini et al., ). In a second study, patients with good self‐assessed health status were more likely to report a positive overall experience with cancer services responsiveness (OR = 1.64, [1.28–2.10]) than those with poor self‐assessed health status (Tremblay et al., ).…”

“…Additionally, it has been found that female cancer patients have higher perceived psychosocial support needs compared with male patients (Faller et al, 2016). In contrast, no gender association with cancer patients' satisfaction has also been reported (Pini et al, 2014).…”

Psychosocial Determinants of Satisfaction with Hospital Care in Adult Patients Suffering from Advanced Cancer

“…Th e research revealed that there was little consistency in the eff ect of age on satisfaction with care 10 . Pini et al 16 found no statistically signifi cant relationship of overall satisfaction with demographics and other factors, although grading of services seemed to be aff ected by the patient health status, education and sex. Patient satisfaction was predicted by younger age, female gender, and greater attention to how they were coping with their illness 17 .…”