The purpose of this study was to analyze the major factors influencing satisfaction with ambulatory care in a general hospital. The study also aimed to provide basic data to help hospitals offer better medical service to patients, determine directiona...
The purpose of this study was to analyze the major factors influencing satisfaction with ambulatory care in a general hospital. The study also aimed to provide basic data to help hospitals offer better medical service to patients, determine directionality to improve their management environments, and take competitive advantage over rival hospitals by presenting problems and improvement measures. The subjects of the study were outpatients using a general hospital in Jeollabuk Province.
The research findings were summarized as follows:
First, as for the general characteristics, there were more men (139, 51.9%) than women (129, 48.1%) according to the gender characteristic; there were the most subjects (86, 32.1%) in the age range of 20~29; those who graduated from college were the most at 102 (38.1%); those who visited the department of internal medicine were the most at 97 (36.2%); those who received the second medical examination (179, 66.8%) were more than those who received the first medical examination (89, 33.2%); and those who described their health state as "good in overall" and "average" were the most both at 104 (38.8%). As for the hospital characteristics, there were more hospitals located in city (189, 70.5%) than in gun (79, 29.5%); the highest 106 (39.6%) subjects said that their hospitals had 300~499 beds; the highest 110 (41.0%) said that their hospitals provided medical service in fewer than 15 departments; there were more non-training hospitals (218, 81.3%) than training hospitals (50, 18.7%); and there were more private hospitals (189, 70.5%) than public hospitals (79, 29.5%).
Second, differences in the elements to assess satisfaction with ambulatory care were analyzed according to the general and hospital characteristics. As for the general characteristics, doctor's care service, hospital environment, and others turned out to be significant related factors according to gender; the reception procedure showed statistically significant differences according to age; the reception procedure and doctor's care service showed statistically significant differences according to educational background; and hospital environments and others showed statistically significant differences according to medical departments. As for the hospital characteristics, doctor's care service, examination and prescription, hospital environment, and others turned out to be statistically significant related factors according to the hospital location; examination and prescription showed statistically significant differences according to the number of bed; doctor's care service, examination and prescription, hospital environment, others showed statistically significant differences according to the number of medical departments; and doctor's care service showed statistically significant differences at a training hospital.
Third, differences in satisfaction with ambulatory care were analyzed according to the general and hospital characteristics. As a result, there were statistically significant differences in satisfaction with ambulatory care according to such general characteristics as age, number of visits, and health state. There were no statistically significant differences in ambulatory care according to the hospital characteristics.
Fourth, differences in the intention for recommendation were analyzed according to the general and hospital characteristics. There were statistically significant differences in intention for recommendation according to such general characteristics as gender and medical departments. There were also statistically significant differences in intention for recommendation according to such hospital characteristics as hospital location, number of bed, and number of medical departments.
Fifth, differences in reuse were analyzed according to the general and hospital characteristics. The analysis results show that there were statistically significant differences in reuse according to such general characteristics as number of visits and such hospital characteristics as hospital location, number of bed, and number of medical departments.
Finally, doctor's care service, hospital environment, and others had statistically significant positive (+) impacts on satisfaction with ambulatory care, intention for recommendation, and reuse.
It is required to provide doctors with an opportunity for ongoing education and training to improve outpatients' satisfaction with care, intention for recommendation, and reuse based on those research findings. It is also needed to monitor the state of internal cleanness constantly and deploy guidance helpers and signposts. Finally, there should be efforts to find ways to reduce waiting time by simplifying the reception procedure and install an institution device such as professional counselors to provide patients with clear explanations about the causes and results of examination.