Patients' satisfaction with psychiatric care.

Abstract

EDITOR,-I C McManus and colleagues rightly emphasise the importance of teaching communication skills, but they do not mention written communication. Sometimes at the end of a consultation the patient is so exhausted and confused that, however good the doctor's communication skills, he or she has difficulty in comprehending the opinion given and the advice proffered. In a randomised trial in the Milton Keynes department of psychiatry, in association with the applied psychology unit of Cranfield College of Aeronautics, colleagues and I found that this problem could be overcome by writing to the patient after an outpatient consultation and summarising both the patient's and the doctor's contributions to the consultation.Patients who received letters were significantly more pleased with the consultation than patients whose general practitioners received letters in the traditional way.2 Patients reported that the receipt of a letter increased their self esteem and made them feel valued by the service.' They pointed out that to be written to (rather than about) was to be treated as a sane and responsible person; this was especially important to those attending the psychiatric outpatient clinic, in many cases for the first time in their lives. The letters were read many times; they were frequently shown to other family members and so formed the basis of family discussion about the illness and its treatment. The referring general practitioner was sent a copy of the letter and so knew what the patient had been told by the psychiatrist. The patients were asked to bring the letters to follow up consultations and to request correction and clarification when necessary.Several patients spontaneously remarked, "Why can't all doctors do this?" In fact, letters and other forms of written summary have been found useful in other specialties2 4; why not general practice too?We found that the prospect of writing to the patient rather than to the general practitioner made our consultations more patient centred. They were harder work but more fun. Why not make some experience of writing to the patient a regular part of the medical student curriculum or general professional training?

Satisfaction of psychiatric inpatients in China: clinical and institutional correlates in a national sample

“…A study conducted in the U.S. in the early 1980’s found that high quality medical staff was the greatest source of satisfaction, while the cost of care was associated with the most dissatisfaction in a private hospital [9]. Another study in the 1990’s found nurses were seen as the most helpful healthcare professionals patients encountered [10]. While most surveys found psychiatric patient satisfaction was good or high [11, 12], and better than patients with non-psychiatric disorders, some found the contrary.…”

Patient-reported Satisfaction Among Psychiatry Admission In A Tertiary-Care Teaching Hospital In Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

“…14 The majority of our patients have rated the behaviors of doctors and nurses as excellent, similar to prior studies. 5,23,24 In general, patients expect a good rapport with the doctor and expect care, concern, and courtesy in addition to good professionalism. 25 Studies have highlighted the importance of communication between patients and nurses and many have found communication with the nursing team more important to patients possibly because they experience more contact with nurses.…”

Zufriedenheit psychiatrischer Patienten mit ihrem stationären Aufenthalt

“…Insofern sind vor allem die nichtklinischen, in der Psychotherapieforschung als "unspezifisch" bezeichneten Wirkfaktoren relevant für die Zufriedenheit des Patienten: "Primäre Bestandteile dieser gemeinsamen unspezifischen Faktoren beinhalten Verständnis, Respekt, Interesse, Ermutigung, Anerkennung, Vergebung -kurz, jene Arten von menschlichen Qualitäten, die schon seit undenkbaren Zeiten als wirkungsvoll im Aufrichten der menschlichen Seele angesehen werden" (Strupp, zitiert nach [5]). Vor diesem Hintergrund verwundert es nicht, wenn Patienten das Pflegepersonal als besonders hilfreich wahrnehmen, weil es verfügbarer ist als Ärz-te oder in einer englischen Studie die Schwestern als größte Hilfe empfunden werden [7].…”