SATISFACTION OF PATIENTS ATTENDING OPD OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS OF FAISALABAD

Patient satisfaction is one of the paramount intents of any health system, but it is difficult to measure the satisfaction and gauze responsiveness of health systems as not only the clinical but also the nonclinical outcomes of care do influence the customer satisfaction. This study is attempted to appraise the level of patient satisfaction in private and public sector hospitals. It is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in out-patient department of Allied and Aziz Fatima Memorial Hospital from May to August using convenient sampling and closed ended structured questionnaire to collect the quantitative data. The study was conducted on 100 patients in limited time and resources. Overall satisfaction level of patients with OPD services of public sector was 71% and with private sector hospital was 83%. The satisfaction level was higher among the people with income less than 30,000. The patients were satisfied with the behavior of doctors and paramedical staff in both sectors. They were dissatisfied with the high prices for available facilities in private sector hospital and delayed availability with excessive waiting time in public sector hospital. Management of hospitals should take initiatives to improve the overall service quality of patient care. Regular feedback from patients should be taken and rules should be made considering the expectations and requirements of patients. Keywords: Patient satisfaction, Measure, Out-patient, Improve, Service quality