Improving Quality and Patient Satisfaction in Dermatology Office Practice

Abstract

M any dermatologists are under pressure to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their clinical care in an era of stagnant reimbursement and higher office expenses. In addition, dermatologists in the United States are under increased scrutiny from payers, regulators, and patients who expect uniformly high-quality service from their physicians. The presence of increasing numbers of nondermatologist health care providers marketing themselves as skincare specialists also places increased pressure on dermatologists to demonstrate the value of their services. Patient perceptions of quality health care are important to the physician. Patient satisfaction affects clinical outcomes, patient retention, and medical malpractice claims. 1 Highly satisfied patients have improved outcomes in the management of chronic disease vs those less satisfied. 1,2 This reflects increased compliance among satisfied patients. Furthermore, dissatisfied patients are 4 times more likely to seek care elsewhere within 6 months. 1,3 Finally, an inverse correlation has been reported for patient satisfaction rates and medical malpractice claims. 1,4 Quality improvement (QI) systems analyze processes to improve the quality of care, productivity, and efficiency. 5 Hospitals and long-term care centers have had QI committees in place for years as a requirement for accreditation. Despite the advantages of self-assessment, many dermatologists in private practice have not implemented a system to analyze and evaluate quality of care rendered in their practice. Such a system could include quarterly meetings attended by not only the physician but also by representatives from the nursing, technical, and administrative staff. Establishing a small QI committee can also stimulate useful QI initiatives. Implementing QI systems based on information from a sampling of patients has been difficult because of their cost and inconvenience. An Internet-based system offers dermatologists a convenient and inexpensive method to obtain patient satisfaction information. The DrScore Web site (http://www.DrScore.com; Medical Quality Enhancement Corporation, Winton-Salem, North Carolina) provides an online patient satisfaction survey designed to respond to the QI needs of dermatologists by providing data to individual dermatologists to help them improve quality of care and patient perceptions of physician quality. A dermatologist could use these

Assessment of patient satisfaction following pharmacist counselling session by a novel patient satisfaction feedback on counselling questionnaire

“…This implied that satisfied patients are more likely to pay higher cost for counselling service should it be charged. This finding is in line with studies conducted in USA . The median and average cost reported in our study was PKR 200, that is, US $ 1.73 and PKR 346, that is, US $ 3.…”

“…In contrast, studies have estimated a loss of US dollar ($) two hundred thousand as lifetime income of the practice attributed to patient loss due to dissatisfaction . From a legal perspective, increased patient satisfaction decreases the chance of malpractice suits …”

Patient Satisfaction: Implications and Predictors of Success

“…Selected patient satisfaction survey results, including those of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) surveys, are available to the public and can influence patients' decisions on where to seek care. Satisfied patients are also less likely to file malpractice claims 16,17 . By addressing patient satisfaction, practices and institutions can increase market share, patient retention, referrals, and, ultimately, revenue 16,18 .…”

Evaluation of Dermatology Practice Online Reviews

“…9 As a primarily outpatient-based specialty with high volume, dermatology may be well informed from the study of these online perspectives. Previous qualitative studies [10][11][12][13][14][15] have identified general factors associated with high patient satisfaction within medicine. These factors include care access, physician demeanor, quality of medical care processes, continuity of care, quality of health care facilities, and office staff characteristics.…”