Patients' Satisfaction With Virtual Phone Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic at Outpatient Clinics in a Teaching Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction The concept of virtual clinics, which have been in existence since the 1960s, was initially limited to military and space applications due to infrastructure limitations. However, with the evolution of communication technology and infrastructure improvements, virtual clinics became accessible to the general public, although they were not widely adopted until the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Virtual clinics offer several benefits, including overcoming distance-related challenges, providing healthcare services to underserved areas, reducing medical costs, and saving patients time. this research aims to assess patient satisfaction with virtual clinics in Saudi Arabia after the COVID-19 pandemic preventive measures are lifted, allowing for a comparison between virtual and traditional face-to-face clinics. This research aims to provide a more comprehensive assessment of patient satisfaction with virtual clinics. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study and interviewed patients who had attended KKHU (King Khalid University Hospital) outpatient clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess their level of satisfaction with virtual clinics through a questionnaire. Results The questionnaire was completed by 221 participants, 201 of whom met our inclusion criteria. The average score was 3.89, the standard deviation was 0.76, and the overall satisfaction ranged from 3.78 to 4. The mean and SD of the overall technical aspect satisfaction were 4.1 and 0.897, respectively. The mean and SD for the total perceived quality of care satisfaction were 3.89 and 0.95, respectively. The mean score for overall administration satisfaction was 3.74, and the SD was 0.92. The mean and SD for the virtual clinics as a whole were 3.82 and 0.73, respectively. Conclusion The overall level of satisfaction was 3.78 out of 5; however, 53% of participants did not want their next visit to be virtual and 73% of males and 63% of females were satisfied with KKHU outpatient clinics.

Patients' knowledge, awareness, and attitude regarding patient safety at a teaching hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

AIMS: Our primary objective is to investigate the baseline status of patients' awareness, knowledge, and attitudes to patient safety. The secondary objective of this research is to determine factors that influence patients' knowledge regarding patient safety. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study with a targeted sample of 410 patients at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Self-administered paper-based questionnaires were distributed to outpatient clinics on February 2, 2019 until March 20, 2019. Finally, the data were analyzed by (SPSS). RESULTS: There were 450 questioners distributed, and 410 were completed and returned (91% response rate). Most of the patients were below the age of 50 (77.9%), 54.8%, of them were females, and almost half received higher education (54.1%). Among the respondents who are taking drugs, 21.6% do not have any knowledge about the side effects of their drugs, and 47.8% of patients said that their physicians do not tell them the side effects of their prescribed drugs. Whereas 20.7% of patients claimed that they experienced a medical error, 66.3% did not report the errors, and the reason was not knowing how to report or to whom in 54.4% of the patients. In regards of infection control, 47% of the participants misunderstood means to prevent the spread of the infections and how it could be transmitted. CONCLUSION: Patients' knowledge about patient safety need to be improved. We suggest educating the patients by providing training programs for patients, and we recommend further studies.

Socioeconomic factors affecting patients' utilization of primary care services at a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Primary care services utilization is dependent on socioeconomic factors. It is proven that variation in socioeconomic factors result in discrepancies in the use of such services. Admittedly, research is limited on the socioeconomic factors affecting the utilization of primary care services in Saudi Arabia. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to study the effect of the main socioeconomic factors affecting patients' utilization of primary care services at a tertiary teaching hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to February 2014 in a primary care clinic of a tertiary teaching hospital in Riyadh city; subjects selected using a random consecutive sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire in Arabic was given to the participants to collect the data which comprised sociodemographic data, utilization measures, and health needs. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. RESULTS: A total of 358 subjects participated in the study. The main factors that best determine the utilization of primary health care clinic in a tertiary teaching hospital were the possession of a health insurance (P = 0.046, odds ratio [OR] = 8.333), and bad self-health-perception (P < 0.014, OR: 2.088). Chronic illness was also associated with higher utilization (OR = 2.003). CONCLUSION: Our results reveal that chronic health problems, self-health-perception, and health insurance are the most significant socioeconomic factors affecting the utilization of primary care services.