PATIENT SATISFACTION;

OPD services in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Lahore

Abstract

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is a relative phenomenon, which embodies the patients perceived need, his expectations
from the health system, and experience of health care. Objective: To determine the level of patient satisfaction towards OPD services with
reference to doctor-patient interaction, registration desk, waiting area, and overall health facilities. Study Design: Descriptive cross
sectional study. Setting: Tertiary care hospital of Lahore. Study Period: April 2013. Material & Methods: A sample of 250 patients was
selected by employing systematic random sampling technique. The patients were interviewed and data was collected using a pretested
questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 16.00. Data was presented in figures
and tables. It was described using frequencies, percentages and mean. Results: Majority of the patients i.e 232 (94%) reported being
satisfied with the doctor. A vast majority agreed that hospital was clean 233 (94%) and adequately ventilated 224 (90%). The hospital staff
in the waiting area was found to be respectful 220 (89%) and fair 198 (80%) towards the patients. The patients had no difficulty locating
the reception desk of the health facility 235 (95%). A large proportion of patients i.e.220 (89%) said they would re-visit the hospital.
Conclusions: The patients were highly satisfied with their doctors and were ready to re-visit the hospital. It is recommended that further
studies should be conducted to assess patient satisfaction in the secondary and primary care health facilities and efforts should be made
to get regular feedback from the patients.