334 Patient Satisfaction: It’s Just a Matter of Time

Abstract

We examined the effect of a Patient Liaison in the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) emergency department (ED) waiting room on patient satisfaction. From June 2015 to June 2016, an interventionist known as the “patient liaison” was present in the UNMH ED waiting room during the time when new patient registration volume peaked on alternating Mondays and Wednesdays. The liaison was trained to provide patients and visitors with general information about the patient care process in the UNMH ED. The liaison wore a uniform to distinguish them from clinical staff and made attempts to approach patients or visitors in the waiting room to solicit questions and offer assistance and information. After the peak on both days, a cross-section of patients assigned a room was surveyed about their understanding and satisfaction with their ED visit and waiting room experience. Patients who spent time in the waiting room (n=292) reported a mean satisfaction with time being taken to receive care of 6.7 out of 10. Patients who did not go to the waiting room reported an average satisfaction of 7.8 (n=201). Among patients who were present in the waiting room on a liaison day, 41.7% (63/151) reported they were aware of the liaison and 21.2% (32/151) reported that they spoke to the liaison. Among patients who had gone through the waiting room, those who spoke to the liaison did not report a significant difference in their satisfaction. We found a negative relationship between time spent in the waiting room and patient satisfaction (p < 0.001). A linear regression analysis indicated that for every hour spent in the waiting room, patient satisfaction decreased by 0.28 points on a 10-point scale. The data shows a strong positive relationship between patient understanding and patient satisfaction (p < 0.001). Our results are consistent with previous findings of the impact of ED wait times on patient satisfaction. An unexpectedly low proportion of patients who went through the waiting room were aware of or spoke to the liaison. While our intervention did not impact patient satisfaction, information about the scale and rate of decline in patient satisfaction and its strong association with patient understanding of the steps being taken to provide them with care are informative for design of future interventions. Aspects of future waiting room interventions that may be more effective in improving patient satisfaction include targeting patients with the longest wait times and adopting a more personalized, proactive intervention method designed to improve each individual patient's understanding of the steps being taken to provide them with care.