Patient Satisfaction Essay

In a 2010 Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery publication, Bhanu Prakash defined patient satisfaction as a “proxy but a very effective indicator to measure the success of doctors and hospitals” (Prakash, 2010). Patient satisfaction is an important tool commonly used by healthcare organizations to measure the quality of care delivered in their facility. On the hand hand Hostutler, Taft & Snyder described patient satisfaction as “occurring when services are rendered in terms of customer expectations, needs, and perceptions” (Hostutler et al, 1999). Trout, Magnusson & Hedges in support of defining patient satisfaction based on patient expectation opined that patient satisfaction is when “patient’s own expectations for treatment and care

ER staff, to include receptionist, administrative staff, nurses and physician courtesy, concern, and communication with their patient is the second significant factor affecting patient satisfaction. A study by Krishel & Baraff shows that there is a strong positive association between provider patient communication and patient satisfaction. Hence Krishel & Baraff enjoins ER staff and physicians to put in every effort to communicate and enhance patients’ understanding of their care and processes of care (Krishel & Baraff, 1993). This in turn will improve patient satisfaction for their

Pain is the most common reason why patients come to the ER. In all the survey analyzed there is generally an increase in patient satisfaction when the patient’s pain is managed in a timely manner during their visit. In a study conducted by Downey & Zun to measure the correlation, if any, between pain reduction and the level of satisfaction in patients who presented to the ER with pain as their chief complaint concluded that patients who experienced pain relief during their stay in the ER had significant increases in distress relief and a positive outlook. Overall, majority of the patients surveyed were satisfied with the care they received and gave positive feedback with “(60%) stating that the doctor was interested in them as a person, seemed warm and friendly (65%), took their problems seriously (68%), and they felt free to talk to the doctor about private matters (55%), and the doctor gave advice that was easy to follow (73%)” (Downey & Zun,