Patient Satisfaction in a University Hospital Emergency Department in Turkey

Yildirim, Cuma; Koçoğlu, Hasan; Göksu, Sıtkı; Gunay, Nurullah; Savas, Haluk

doi:10.14712/18059694.2018.33

Acta Medica > Archive > 2005, Vol. 48 > Issue 1 > Patient Satisfaction in a University…

Acta Med. 2005, 48: 59-62

https://doi.org/10.14712/18059694.2018.33

Patient Satisfaction in a University Hospital Emergency Department in Turkey

Cuma Yildirim^a, Hasan Koçoğlu^b, Sıtkı Göksu^b, Nurullah Gunay^a, Haluk Savas^c

^aGaziantep University Medical School, Department of Emergency Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey
^bGaziantep University Medical School, Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Gaziantep, Turkey
^cGaziantep University Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Gaziantep, Turkey

Received April 1, 2004
Accepted February 1, 2005

Objective: Patient satisfaction, an indicator of the quality of care provided by emergency department (ED) personnel, is a significant issue for EDs. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and to describe demographic characteristics of those surveyed in a university hospital ED. Methods: All adult patients who consecutively presented to the ED between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays were included in the study. Patients were asked to complete a questionnaire prior to discharge. The questionnaire asked about the attitude, politeness, and efficiency of the medical and ancillary staff, the reason for preferring our centre and reasons for dissatisfaction. Results: Two-hundred and forty-five adult patients presenting to our ED were included in this study. Forty-five percent of patients preferred our ED because of the previous perception of higher quality of care, informed by other people previously treated in this ED unit, and 35% because of restrictions by their health insurance carrier. The main causes of patient dissatisfaction were lengthy waiting times (27%). Conclusion: As a result, lengthy waiting time was the major reason for patient dissatisfaction, and high quality care together with insurance restrictions were the main reasons for preference of this university hospital ED.