Predictors of patient satisfaction in surgery

Background

We sought to evaluate the satisfaction of surgical patients in order to identify predictors of patient satisfaction, using a cross-sectional surgery patients' survey in 24 public hospitals in Spain and a total of 15,539 inpatients and 7,899 outpatients.

Results

Seventy-seven percent of inpatients and 88.3% of outpatients were satisfied (χ² = 509.31; P < .0001). Case-mix and hospital size were associated with satisfaction in inpatients (χ² = 19.31; P = .013). Older inpatients tended to be more satisfied (χ² = 80.54; P = .001), whereas; younger outpatients showed higher satisfaction levels (χ² = 51.73; P = .004). The most influential factors on inpatient satisfaction were information at admission (odds ratio [OR], 4.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.91–5.63), knowing what type of professional one was dealing with at any given time (OR, 4.01; 95% CI, 3.01–5.34), and informed consent (OR, 3.37; 95% CI, 2.41–4.71). For outpatients, the most influential factors were informed consent (OR, 7.62; 95% CI, 3.68–15.80) and information about home care after discharge (OR, 7.010; 95% CI, 3.06–15.96).

Conclusion

We should consider the importance of patient information before and after treatment in the design of clinical pathways to offer better and more comprehensive care to surgical patients.