Printed in Great Britain PIL S1353^i50S(97)00040-9 1353-4505/97 sn.oo+o.oo Patient Satisfaction With Emergency House Calls

Study objectives: To identify determinants of patient satisfac-tion with emergency house caDs and to assess the properties of a satisfaction measurement questionnaire. Design: Patient surrey, combined with routinely collected information on the circumstances of tbe bouse calL Setting: Emergency boose caDs provided by an independent emergency care organization (ECO) in Genera, Switzerland. Participants: Consecutive sample of 389 patients (67% response rate). Main outcome measure: Patient satisfaction. Predictor vari-ables: patient age and sex, type of medical problem, time of visit, waiting time, duration of visit, perceived effectiveness of treat-ment. Results: Tbe satisfaction questionnaire was easy to administer. Factor analysis identified 3 separate dimensions of satisfaction, which pertained to tbe visit itself, to access and to general attitude toward tbe ECO. Validation tests were consistent with expecta-tions. In mnltivarlate analysis, older patient age and greater perceived treatment effectiveness predicted independently aD satisfaction scales. Presence of a mixed physical and mental problem reduced satisfaction with the visit itself only, a delay between tbe phone call and the visit exceeding one hour reduced satisfaction with access and worsened tbe attitude toward tbe ECO. Conclusion: The instrument used to measure patient satisfac-tion with emergency bouse calls performed welL Overall levels of satisfaction were high. Perceived effectiveness of treatment was the strongest correlate of patient satisfaction. Monitoring of patient satisfaction in emergency settings may contribute to improvements of quality of care. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. Key words; Patient satisfaction, emergency medical services, house calls, treatment effectiveness, reliability and validity