Patient satisfaction levels in surgical ward of a tertiary care hospital in Karachi

ABSTRACT

Patient satisfaction is a good yardstick to measure care giver's success. Patient satisfaction is one of the pertinent objectives of health care system. Since doctor-patient relationship is most crucial and decisive in patients' perception of care and satisfaction, from this survey, we explore various aspects of care received from doctors that determine the overall satisfaction level of patients. The objective of this study was to find out the level of patients satisfaction with various aspects of care provided by doctors in surgical ward in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi. Data was collected from a convenient sample of 174 patients, at the time of discharge from the health facility, who were admitted to surgical ward of Ziauddin Hospital, KDLB campus. Study design was cross sectional. Data collection was done from August till September 2013. Questionnaire was developed after literature review. Patient satisfaction was recorded using the 5 point Likert scale. Data analysis was done on SPSS version 19. Overall there were 57.5% males and 42.5% females participants. 41% of the participants were between 35-44 years of age. 42.5% were educated up to primary level, while 19.5% were not educated at all. Overall satisfaction level was 100%, with 66.7% noted as very satisfying while 33.3% as satisfying. Doctors' politeness, availability, provision of post operative care and discharge counseling were strong determinants of overall satisfaction. Explanation of medicines and patients' participation in their illness discussion were areas of uncertainty and dissatisfaction. Doctors' polite attitude, consultation and availability are vital to patient satisfaction. Areas that need more attention are, seeking patient views in their illness discussion, explaining them prescription drugs and lab investigations