Can Physicians Improve Patient Satisfaction with Long Waiting Times?

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to determine how time spent with the physician might be related to patient dissatisfaction with their waiting time. During a 2-month period, patients in our internal medicine resident continuity clinic completed a survey assessing their satisfaction with their waiting time and their estimates of their waiting time and time spent with the resident physician. For patients with long waiting times (more than 15 min in the waiting room or more than 10 min in the exam room), patient dissatisfaction with waiting time was associated with a shorter physician visit (48% were dissatisfied if the physician spent less than 15 min vs. 18% if the physician spent more than 15 min with them, p = .03). These data suggest that physicians can mediate the negative effects of long waiting times by spending more time with their patients. Future studies on patient satisfaction should consider this interaction.

Who's My Doctor? First-Year Residents and Patient Care: Hospitalized Patients' Perception of Their “Main Physician”

“…b Other is defined as the whole team, primary care physician, or consultants. (12) 100 (8) 94 (16) My physician spent enough time with me 95 (57) 94 (16) 88 (7) 76 (13) My physician dresses professionally 97 (58) 100 (17) 100 (8) 100 (17) My physician treated me with respect 100 (60) 100 (17) 100 (8) 100 (17) My physician communicated at a level I could understand 97 (58) 94 (16) 100 (8) 100 (17) I would want this physician to treat me again 98 (59) 100 (17) 100 (8) 100 (17) a Intern is defined as subintern medical students + postgraduate year 1 residents. b Other is defined the whole team, primary care physician, or consultants.…”

“…15 A study conducted in an outpatient ophthalmology clinic showed that a simple handshake and introduction improved satisfaction, 16 and another found that by decreasing waiting times and by spending more time with a patient, satisfaction was improved. 17 Although a number of studies in the outpatient setting have assessed the variables that affect patient satisfaction, there are fewer studies related to inpatient care by resident physicians. 3,4,10,[14][15][16][17] Some of these have found that a…”

“…17 Although a number of studies in the outpatient setting have assessed the variables that affect patient satisfaction, there are fewer studies related to inpatient care by resident physicians. 3,4,10,[14][15][16][17] Some of these have found that a…”

Perspectives of Health Care Services among Free Clinic Patients in the USA: A Qualitative Study

“…The interactions that patients have with staff, volunteers and providers has been identified as a factor in patient satisfaction in previous studies, especially in regards to phone calls and wait times, though the actual waiting time is not longer than that at other regular clinic in the same geographical area [12,17]. Since the clinic is run mostly by volunteers who do not always feel that they receive proper training, the attitudes of some receptionists which were negatively perceived may be due to the fact that they had multiple tasks at the front desk.…”

“Patient-time”, “doctor-time”, and “institution-time”: Perceptions and definitions of time among doctors who become patients

“…Similarly, patients admitted during off-hours more frequently encounter delays in undergoing catheterization for MIs, leading to higher mortality (28). Long wait times may be associated with decreased overall satisfaction with treatment (29,30), though other research has found that patient perceptions of time are often inaccurate, with over-more than under-estimations of wait times to see physicians (31). Indeed, perceptions rather than actual wait times may predict patient satisfaction (32).…”