Patients-next of kins’ perceptions on information clarity and interpersonal relations in communication in a medical practice

Abstract

Abstrak Salah satu faktor yang menyumbang kepada persepsi umum masyarakat terhadap sesebuah organisasi adalah tahap kepuasan khidmat pelanggannya. Hal ini termasuklah khidmat pelanggan di pusat perubatan melibatkan komunikasi antara pihak pusat perubatan dan pesakit atau waris menjadi aduan atau rungutan masyarakat umum. Adakalanya, rungutan ini berfokus kepada unsur ketidakjelasan maklumat dan hubungan perorangan yang kurang profesional antara doktor dan pesakit atau waris dalam interaksi di klinik perubatan tertentu. Penulisan ini bertujuan mengkaji persepsi pesakit-waris terhadap aspek kejelasan maklumat dan hubungan antara perorangan di antara doktor-pesakit di salah sebuah pusat perubatan awam di Malaysia. Satu soal selidik temu bual yang mengadaptasi soal selidik PPE (15) ( Picker Patient Experience ) secara bersemuka terhadap 100 responden yang dipilih secara rawak. Hasil kajian menunjukkan peratusan tahap kepuasan pesakit-waris terhadap kejelasan maklumat serta hubungan antara perorangan agak memuaskan dengan catatan peratusan melebihi 50 peratus. Namun begitu, keprihatinan terhadap peratusan tahap ketidakpuasan pesakit-waris terhadap kejelasan maklumat dan hubungan antara perorangan antara doktor-pesakit masih perlu dipertingkatkan. Antara aspek kejelasan maklumat dalam dapatan kajian merangkumi maklumat penyakit serta pengambilan ubat-ubatan, manakala aspek hubungan perorangan merangkumi nilai dihormati, peluang pesakit-waris menyuarakan kebimbangan dan berinteraksi bersama doktor. Dapatan kajian ini memperlihatkan implikasi kajian terhadap keperluan bagi peningkatan tahap kesedaran dan profesionalisma yang tinggi dalam komunikasi doktor dan pesakit-waris. Kata kunci: doktor, pesakit-waris, hubungan perorangan, interaksi, kejelasan maklumat, komunikasi Patients-next of kins’ perceptions on information clarity and interpersonal relations in communication in a medical practice Abstract One of the factors that contributes to the general perception of society towards an organisation is the level of customer service satisfaction. This includes customer service at medical centers, where communication between staff and patient or their next of kin becomes a common complaint from the public. Occasionally, these complaints focus on clarity of information and lack of interpesonal skills between doctors and patients-next of kin in the doctor-patient interaction in the clinics. This study aims to examine the perceptions of patients in terms of the clarity of information and the interpersonal skills between doctor-patient in one of the public medical centers in Malaysia. A face-to-face survey questionaire interview adapted from PPE (15) (Picker Patient Experience) with 100 randomly selected respondents was conducted at a public medical center. The findings illustrate that more than 50 percent of respondents are satisfied with regards to clarity of information and interpersonal relations between doctor-patient. However, there still exist percentages of dissatisfaction among patient-next of kin that should be given considerable attention. The clarity of information is needed in conveying clarity of illnesses and medicine takings whilst the interpersonal skills composite the need to feel respected as patient-next of kin and opportunities to express concerns and to interact with doctors. The findings of this study demonstrate the the need to enhance level of profesionalism focusing on customer service communication between doctors and patients. Keywords : doctor, patient-next of kin, interpersonal relationship, interaction, information clarity, communication