PATIENT EXPECTATIONS FROM AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE
Abstract
Background: Patient expectation survey at the Emergency Medical Services can improve patientsatisfaction. A need was established to conduct such a survey in order to recommend its use as aquality improvement tool. Methods: The study was conducted on patients visiting the EmergencyMedical Services, Aga Khan University, Karachi. A questionnaire was used to collect informationon the demographic profile, and expectations of patients. The ethical requirements for conductingthe study were met. Results: A hundred patients were surveyed. The majority was relativelyyoung, married men and women, well educated and better socio-economically placed. Themajority of the patients expected a waiting time and a consultation time of less than 30 minutesand 20 minutes, respectively. The majority of respondents expected and agreed to be examined bya trainee but there were reluctant to be examined by the students. There was an expectation thatthe consultant will examine patients and not advice the attending team over the phone. Themajority of the patients expected intravenous fluid therapy. There was a desire to have patientattendant present during the consultation process. The majority of the patients expected to pay lessthan three thousand rupees for the visit. An expectation exists for investigations andhospitalization. Involvement of patients in decisions concerning their treatment and writtenfeedback on their visit was expected. Conclusions: We have documented the need and value ofpatient expectation survey at the Emergency Medical Services department. The use of such a toolis recommended in order to improve the satisfaction levels of patients visiting such facilities.Key-words: Emergency Medical Service-Emergency Care-Patient SatisfactionReferences
Perron NJ, Secretan F, Vannotti M, Pecoud A, Favrat B.
Patient expectations at a multicultural out-patient clinic in
Switzerland. Fam Pract 2003; 20:428-33.
Kuisma M, Maatta T, Hakala T, Sivula T, Nousila-Wiik M.
Customer satisfaction measurement in emergency medical
services. Acad Emerg Med 2003;10:812-5.
Sun B, Adams J, Orav E, Rucker D, Brennan T, Burstin H.
Determinants of patient satisfaction and willingness to return
with emergency care. Ann Emerg Med 2000; 35:426–34.
Curka P, Pepe P, Zachariah B, Gray G, Matsumoto C.
Incidence, source and nature of complaints received in a
large, urban emergency medical services system. Acad
Emerg Med 1995;2:508–12.
Hutchison B, Ostbye T, Barnsley J, Stewart M, Mathews M,
Campbell MK et al. Patient satisfaction and quality of care in
walk-in clinics, family practices and emergency departments:
the Ontario Walk-In Clinic Study. CMAJ 2003; 168:977-83.
Ballesteros Perez AM, Garcia Gonzalez AL, Fontcuberta
Martinez J, Sanchez Rodriguez F, Perez-Crespo C, Alcazar
Manzanera F. Time spent waiting at primary care clinics: can
this be improved? Aten Primaria. 2003; 31:377-81.
Qidwai W, Dhanani RH, Khan FM. Implications for the
practice of a patient expectation and satisfaction survey, at a
teaching hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc
;53:122-5.
Cloonan CC. "Don't just do something, stand there!": to teach
or not to teach, that is the question--intravenous fluid
J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad 2005;17(3)
resuscitation training for Combat Lifesavers. J Trauma 2003;
:S20-5. Review.
Rehmani R, Amanullah S. Analysis of blood tests in the
emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. Postgrad
Med J 1999;75:662-6.
Leonard P, Beattie TF. How do blood cultures sent from a
paediatric accident and emergency department influence
subsequent clinical management? Emerg Med J 2003;
:347-8.
Mandhan P, Shah A, Khan AW, Muniruddin, Hasan N.
Outpatient pediatric surgery in a developing country. J Pak
Med Assoc. 2000; 50:220-4.
Steinau G, Riesener KP, Werkes S, Willital GH,
Schumpelick V. Ambulatory pediatric surgery--limits and
risks from the clinical viewpoint. Chirurg 1995;66:291-6.
Qidwai W. Paternalistic model of medical practice. J Coll
Physicians Surg Pak 2003;13:296-9.
Tsai DF. How should doctors approach patients? A
Confucian reflection on personhood. J Med Ethics
;27:44-50.
Tsai DF. Ancient Chinese medical ethics and the four
principles of biomedical ethics. J Med Ethics. 1999; 25:315-
Issue
Section
License
Journal of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad is an OPEN ACCESS JOURNAL which means that all content is FREELY available without charge to all users whether registered with the journal or not. The work published by J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad is licensed and distributed under the creative commons License CC BY ND Attribution-NoDerivs. Material printed in this journal is OPEN to access, and are FREE for use in academic and research work with proper citation. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad accepts only original material for publication with the understanding that except for abstracts, no part of the data has been published or will be submitted for publication elsewhere before appearing in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. The Editorial Board of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of material printed in J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. However, conclusions and statements expressed are views of the authors and do not reflect the opinion/policy of J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad or the Editorial Board.
USERS are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
AUTHORS retain the rights of free downloading/unlimited e-print of full text and sharing/disseminating the article without any restriction, by any means including twitter, scholarly collaboration networks such as ResearchGate, Academia.eu, and social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Scholar and any other professional or academic networking site.
