Physician's Satisfaction from Laboratory Services in Maternity and Children Hospital in Makkah

Abstract

Background: Physicians are primary customers of laboratory services and their perception of the provided services is considered an important measure of quality assurance. This study investigates the physicians' satisfaction of laboratories' services, in Maternity and Children Hospital in Makkah, to identify strength and possible limitations, which might inform the development plans for more efficient services. Methods: The study measured satisfaction of laboratories' primary customer (physicians) of provided services in fourfold: quality of reports, communication, management, and TAT. Paper-based survey of 5-Likert Scale, ranged from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5) was developed based on the CAP survey and related published studies. The questionnaire was piloted and then demonstrated between May and June 2014. Results: Sixty-three physicians complete the survey. The overall satisfaction of the provided services were limited with mean score 64/120. Respondents were not pleased with the majority of items with mean ranged between 3.4 (Unsure) to 2.3 (Disagree). Physicians were most satisfied with courtesy of laboratory personnel (mean= 3.4), accuracy of laboratory results (mean= 3.2) and staff support to research projects (mean= 3.1). However, the lowest satisfaction rete was reported with the test turnaround times (TAT) for state, and routine tests for inpatient and outpatient. Conclusion: This study presented a number of negative observations of laboratory services at the Maternity and Children Hospital in Makkah, which mainly related to administration, communication, quality and delay in TAT. The efficiency and optimization of laboratory service need to be readdressed by the laboratory administration. Effective extra laboratory communication channels needed to be established to improve interaction between laboratory and physicians. Point-of-care testing (POCT) is one of the promising implementing to improve TAT since, no time required for sample's preparation and transportation.

Assessment of Customer Satisfaction with the Clinical Laboratory Services Provided in King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah

“…In our study, however, the factors with the highest satisfaction rate were critical results notifications (33.3%) and communication of laboratory personnel (26.5%). The mean score of the critical results notifications was 3.8 out of 5, which is higher than 2.57 [1] and lower than 4.3 [9] . Moreover, the least satisfaction rate in similar studies was related to test turnaround time (TAT) [5] , esoteric test TAT [9] , and laboratory essential instructions and guides [1] .…”

“…The mean overall satisfaction score in our study was 3.65 out of 5, which was lower than the score in the CAP Q-Probes studies but within their range and relatively higher than the score in a study in 2015 conducted in the Maternity and Children Hospital in Makkah. The mean overall satisfaction score ranged between 2.3 and 3.4 out of 5 [1] . The highest satisfaction rate in similar studies was related to the quality/reliability of test results and staff courtesy (89.9%) [5] , quality of results (51.9%) [9] and courtesy of laboratory personnel??…”

“…The highest satisfaction rate in similar studies was related to the quality/reliability of test results and staff courtesy (89.9%) [5] , quality of results (51.9%) [9] and courtesy of laboratory personnel?? [1] .…”

“…The clinical laboratory services of a healthcare facility play anessential role in making appropriate medical decisions for patient's health [1] . The concept in improving the quality of laboratory services considering the customer's perspective on the services provided to them has become more prevalent in the later decades [2] .…”

“…Previously, in 1993, a similar study was conducted in the city of Riyadh measuring the patients' level of satisfaction in general [7] . In 2015, a study was conducted in Maternity and Children Hospital in Makkah focusing on the physician's satisfaction with the laboratory services [1] . The lack of research aimed at measuring the customer's satisfaction with the laboratory services in Saudi Arabia inspired us to establish this study.…”