Comparison of Patients Satisfaction after Pilot Project on Improvement of Medical Battalion"s Function

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Aim(s): In the current Army health care delivery system, soldiers have received primary health care from the medical company. If the symptoms get worse, they are transferred to the medical battalion or military hospital. However, the medical company has a problem in providing timely care because of the lack of medical personnel and equipment, which worsens patient conditions and reduces patient satisfaction. Therefore, we conducted a pilot project that the medical company focuses on the role of evacuation and the medical battalion reinforces functions of primary health. The purpose of this study was to compare patient satisfaction in health care before and after the pilot project.

Method(s): This study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design, recruiting 82 soldiers who experienced in medical services before and after pilot projects. The patient satisfaction was investigated as in 4 criteria: accessibility, system infrastructure, care coordination, and patient-centeredness. The pilot project was conducted from September 2019 to April 2020, and the data were from January 2019 to March 2020.

Result(s): The results of independent t-test showed that the soldiers evaluated the system infrastructure sector was significantly increased (p=.003) while the accessibility was decreased (p=<0.001) after the pilot project compared to before the pilot project. The care coordination and the patient-centeredness were increased as well after the pilot project, but their figures were not statistically significant.

Conclusion(s): This study identifies that the pilot project on improvement of medical battalion"s function has a positive impact on patient satisfaction. In addition, it suggests that strengthening strategies on accessibility should be prioritized in order to expand the pilot project.