Abstract
Rural medical services play an important role in protecting and promoting the health of the rural population; however, patient satisfaction with rural medical services has been understudied in China. A better understanding of the actual situation and the determinants involved will provide evidence for health-related policy makers and hospital managers to further improve rural medical services. A total of 9811 patients (5208 outpatients and 4603 inpatients) were included in this study from a cross-sectional survey conducted in rural hospitals from 11 western provinces in China. Three in five patients (including outpatients and inpatients) were satisfied with rural medical services. The mean overall satisfaction scores were 3.61 ± 0.857 and 3.80 ± 0.829 (out of a maximum of 5) for rural outpatients and inpatients, respectively. The most satisfying domains for outpatients and inpatients were medical service attitude and illness explanation, and waiting time and medical expenses were the domains that outpatients and inpatients were least satisfied with. Satisfaction with medical technology (OR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.57–1.92) and satisfaction with trust in physicians (OR: 2.05; 95% CI: 1.85–2.28) were identified as the strongest predictors of outpatients’ and inpatients’ overall satisfaction with rural medical services, respectively. This study might shed light on rural medical services management in China.
Highlights
Health, the eternal topic of mankind, was put in the central position of the global SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations in December 2015 [1]
The results showed that about three in five patients were satisfied with rural medical services; 60.2% of outpatients and 70.9% of inpatients were satisfied or very satisfied
This study shows that satisfaction with the hospital environment was significantly associated with the overall satisfaction with rural medical services among outpatients (OR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.11–1.36)
Summary
The eternal topic of mankind, was put in the central position of the global SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations in December 2015 [1]. As the consumer of healthcare, a patient has an effective perspective to assess the quality of health services. Patient satisfaction has been highlighted as an important indicator regarding health services outcomes. Organization (WHO) updated its global reference list of 100 core health indicators in 2018, in which patient satisfaction was included as one indictor to measure the quality and safety of care in health systems [2]. When U.S News & World Report selects and ranks the best hospitals in the U.S, starting with 2019–2020 rankings, it includes the patient experience score based on patient satisfaction survey data [3]. Since 2019, in China, the General Office of State Council has underlined patient satisfaction as a key indicator of performance in the assessment of tertiary public hospitals [4]
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