Improving Wait Times and Patient Satisfaction in Primary Care

被引:64
作者
Michael, Melanie [1 ]
Schaffer, Susan D. [2 ]
Egan, Patricia L. [3 ]
Little, Barbara B.
Pritchard, Patrick Scott [4 ,5 ]
机构
[1] Univ S Florida, Coll Nursing, Tampa, FL 33620 USA
[2] Univ S Florida, Coll Nursing, Dept Womens Childrens Family Nursing, Tampa, FL USA
[3] Sarasota Cty Hlth Dept, Nursing Program, Sarasota, FL USA
[4] Florida Dept Hlth, Tampa, FL USA
[5] Univ S Florida, Coll Publ Hlth, Tampa, FL USA
关键词
ambulatory/physician office; community/public health; patient satisfaction; performance; improvement models; quality improvement;
D O I
10.1111/jhq.12004
中图分类号
R19 [保健组织与事业(卫生事业管理)];
学科分类号
摘要
A strong and inverse relationship between patient satisfaction and wait times in ambulatory care settings has been demonstrated. Despite its relevance to key medical practice outcomes, timeliness of care in primary care settings has not been widely studied. The goal of the quality improvement project described here was to increase patient satisfaction by minimizing wait times using the Dartmouth Microsystem Improvement Curriculum (DMIC) framework and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) improvement process. Following completion of an initial PDSA cycle, significant reductions in mean waiting room and exam room wait times (p = .001 and p = .047, respectively) were observed along with a significant increase in patient satisfaction with waiting room wait time (p = .029). The results support the hypothesis that the DMIC framework and the PDSA method can be applied to improve wait times and patient satisfaction among primary care patients. Furthermore, the pretest-posttest preexperimental study design employed provides a model for sequential repetitive tests of change that can lead to meaningful improvements in the delivery of care and practice performance in a variety of ambulatory care settings over time.
引用
收藏
页码:50 / 60
页数:11
相关论文
共 16 条
[1]  
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, 2010, NAT HLTH EXP FACT SH
[2]  
Drain M., 2007, WILL YOUR PATIENTS R
[3]  
Florida Department of Health, 2010, PERS HLTH US REP DAT
[4]  
Garman Andrew N, 2004, Qual Manag Health Care, V13, P75
[5]  
Health Resources and Services Administration, 2010, HLTH CTR PAT SAT SUR
[6]  
Institute of Medicine (US) . Committee on quality of health care in America, 2001, Crossing the quality chasm: a new health system for the 21st Century, DOI DOI 10.17226/10027
[7]  
Leddy Kelly M, 2003, J Ambul Care Manage, V26, P138
[8]  
Nelson E.C., 2007, Quality by design: A clinical microsystems approach
[9]   Clinical Microsystems, Part 1. The Building Blocks of Health Systems [J].
Nelson, Eugene C. ;
Godfrey, Marjorie M. ;
Batalden, Paul B. ;
Berry, Scott A. ;
Bothe, Albert E., Jr. ;
McKinley, Karen E. ;
Melin, Craig N. ;
Muething, Stephen E. ;
Moore, L. Gordon ;
Wasson, John H. ;
Nolan, Thomas W. .
JOINT COMMISSION JOURNAL ON QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY, 2008, 34 (07) :367-378
[10]   The SQUIRE (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence) guidelines for quality improvement reporting: explanation and elaboration [J].
Ogrinc, G. ;
Mooney, S. E. ;
Estrada, C. ;
Foster, T. ;
Goldmann, D. ;
Hall, L. W. ;
Huizinga, M. M. ;
Liu, S. K. ;
Mills, P. ;
Neily, J. ;
Nelson, W. ;
Pronovost, P. J. ;
Provost, L. ;
Rubenstein, L. V. ;
Speroff, T. ;
Splaine, M. ;
Thomson, R. ;
Tomolo, A. M. ;
Watts, B. .
QUALITY & SAFETY IN HEALTH CARE, 2008, 17 :13-32