Association of waiting time and satisfaction level of patients with online registration system in a tertiary level medical institute outpatient department (OPD)

Abstract

In 2015 the Government of India started a Computerized Online Registration System (CORS) for scheduling online appointments. This study was conducted to assess whether the introduction of CORS had any impact on patient satisfaction and patient waiting time for outpatient registration. A study comprising 50 online registered patients and 70 walk-in registered patients was conducted at the adult outpatient departments registration windows (Internal Medicine and General Surgery) of a tertiary level hospital. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to capture the satisfaction levels (%), waiting time (in minutes) and their associated factors in both group of patients.The Median waiting time for walk-in registered patients was approximately four times (60 min, IQR (30–90)) as compared to the online registered patients (15 min, IQR (10–30)) (p = 0.000). The satisfaction level among the online registered patients (90%, 95% CI (83–97)) was three times higher than the walk-in registered patients (29%, 95% CI (18–40)). The online registered patients were ten times more likely to be satisfied as compared to the walk-in registered patients (Adjusted Odds Ratio 9.8, 95% CI (2.2–43.5)). . Additionally, for every 1% increase in the waiting time at the online registration window (>30 min) the satisfaction decreased by 3% (-3.2%). Hence, the study showed that the CORS improved the user experience by reducing the waiting time and increasing the satisfaction levels at the registration window.Public Abstract: Online appointment for OPD consultation results in less waiting time at the registration counters of tertiary care public hospitals. If you do not have smartphones, use the phones of your family members or neighbours. If you don't know how to operate the phones, seek help from your family and friends. This study shows, that those who had these problems were still able to register online by seeking help.