The departmental setting in which a patient receives pediatric care greatly influences the factors that will determine the patient's level of satisfaction, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medical Quality.
The study was conducted by researchers at Nemours Children's Health System, based in Wilmington, Del., and included a review of more than 27,000 patient satisfaction surveys over a three-year period at Nemours facilities and at Thomas Jefferson University Medical Center in Philadelphia.
One thing the researchers gathered from the study is that patients' needs and expectations change as they move through an integrated care system, according to study co-author Stephen Lawless, MD, enterprise vice president of quality and safety at Nemours Children Health System.
"What may be important in an emergency care setting may not matter as much to patients in primary care," said Dr. Lawless. "These findings can help target resources toward improving the patient experience through influencing factors in each setting."
The study also revealed:
1. Across all four service areas — inpatient, outpatient, emergency and primary care — physician care and nurse care in correlation with personal concern carried the biggest impact on patient satisfaction.
2. Distinct to outpatient specialty care, physician care has the largest impact on overall pediatric patient satisfaction
3. Nursing care was valued as most important by patients in inpatient settings
4. Although overall personal concern was a key factor in all four areas, it had the largest effect on patient satisfaction in emergency care settings
5. Personal concern and physician care, along with ease of the scheduling process, were the most influential factors for patients in primary care settings.
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