Correlation between waiting time and satisfaction among those attending outpatient departments of a tertiary care social security hospital, Faridabad, Haryana

Abstract

Background: Patient satisfaction has been an area of interest among hospital administrators. One of the reasons of this perception quoted in the literature is waiting time and time spent with the service provider. Objective: The objective of this study is to calculate the self-reported waiting time and time spent for consultation and diagnostic procedure among those attending the outpatient departments (OPDs) at Employees State Insurance Corporation, Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad, and second whether this waiting time is a predictor of patient satisfaction. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary level health center which caters to the insured population under the Employees State Insurance Scheme from June 2018 to August 2018. This study was conducted on 265 patients and attendants (age ≥18 years) attending the OPD from 10 a.m. to 01 p.m. The study population was stratified from three points (OPD, laboratory, and pharmacy). Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model was run to identify whether waiting time was an independent predictor of satisfaction after accounting for confounders. Results: Median time taken by the study population from registration till visiting doctor was 50 min (interquartile range [IQR]: 60). The median time spent with doctor was 5 min (IQR: 5) at laboratory and pharmacy was 10 and 3 min, respectively. The total score for satisfaction ranged from 38 to 79 with a mean score of 61.256 (±2 standard deviation; 8.293). The MLR analysis revealed that the time taken from the laboratory or OPD to pharmacy for taking drugs and time spent in the laboratory had impact on satisfaction. (s = 0.273, P = 0.03 and s = 0.247, P = 0.03, respectively). Higher level of education was associated with lower satisfaction level in the current study. Conclusion: It is needed to focus upon the time spent with the patients by the doctors and the number of staff posted at a point of care who are actually working.