Dataset Information

Questionnaire survey about use of an online appointment booking system in one large tertiary public hospital outpatient service center in China.

ABSTRACT:

Background

As a part of nationwide healthcare reforms, the Chinese government launched web-based appointment systems (WAS) to provide a solution to problems around outpatient appointments and services. These have been in place in all Chinese public tertiary hospitals since 2009.

Methods

Questionnaires were collected from both patients and doctors in one large tertiary public hospital in Shanghai, China.Data were analyzed to measure their satisfaction and views about the WAS.

Results

The 1000 outpatients randomly selected for the survey were least satisfied about the waiting time to see a doctor. Even though the WAS provided a much more convenient booking method, only 17% of patients used it. Of the 197 doctors surveyed, over 90% thought it was necessary to provide alternative forms of appointment booking systems for outpatients. However, about 80% of those doctors who were not associated professors would like to provide an 'on-the-spot' appointment option, which would lead to longer waits for patients.

Conclusions

Patients were least satisfied about the waiting times. To effectively reduce appointment-waiting times is therefore an urgent issue. Despite the benefits of using the WAS, most patients still registered via the usual method of queuing, suggesting that hospitals and health service providers should promote and encourage the use of the WAS. Furthermore, Chinese health providers need to help doctors to take others' opinions or feedback into consideration when treating patients to minimize the gap between patients' and doctors' opinions. These findings may provide useful information for both practitioners and regulators, and improve recognition of this efficient and useful booking system, which may have far-reaching and positive implications for China's ongoing reforms.

SUBMITTER: Zhang M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4059480 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Questionnaire survey about use of an online appointment booking system in one large tertiary public hospital outpatient service center in China.

Zhang MinMin M Zhang CongXin C Sun QinWen Q Cai QuanCai Q Yang Hua H Zhang YinJuan Y

BMC medical informatics and decision making 20140609

<h4>Background</h4>As a part of nationwide healthcare reforms, the Chinese government launched web-based appointment systems (WAS) to provide a solution to problems around outpatient appointments and services. These have been in place in all Chinese public tertiary hospitals since 2009.<h4>Methods</h4>Questionnaires were collected from both patients and doctors in one large tertiary public hospital in Shanghai, China.Data were analyzed to measure their satisfaction and views about the WAS.<h4>Re ...[more]

PMID: 24912568

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Project description:BACKGROUND:In China, a long waiting time for registration is a common occurrence in many tertiary hospitals. This study aimed to analyze the effects of a comprehensive reservation service for non-emergency registration on appointment registration rate, patient waiting time, patient satisfaction and outpatient volume at the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center. METHODS:This was a cross-sectional study. This study investigated the effects of a comprehensive reservation service for non-emergency registration in Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center in China starting in October 2015. In total, 2194 patients completed a satisfaction survey administered by the Guangdong Situation Research Center. The content of the questionnaire consisted of six aspects: general impression, service attitude, service quality, hospital environment, price perception and medical ethics. A Likert 5-point rating scale was used in the questionnaire; answers were classified as "very satisfied", "relatively satisfied", "neutral", "unsatisfied" and "very unsatisfied". The method of application was paper-based. T-tests were used to compare the sample means, and chi-square tests were used to compare the rates. A multiple-test procedure was performed to evaluate the differences in the reservation rates during a 12-month period. RESULTS:After the implementation of the comprehensive reservation service for non-emergency registration in our hospital, which has an annual outpatient volume of approximately 4 million, the monthly appointment registration rate increased from (34.95?±?2.91)% to(89.13?±?3.12)%,P?<?0.01. The patient waiting time was significantly reduced (P?<?0.01), and the proportion of patients who believed that the waiting time required improvement was decreased significantly (P?<?0.01). Moreover, the third-party evaluation result of outpatient satisfaction significantly improved (P?<?0.01). The total hospital outpatient volume decreased(P?<?0.01). The outpatient volume of the Department of General Pediatrics decreased. CONCLUSION:The implementation of the comprehensive reservation service for non-emergency registration in the hospital shortened patient waiting time and improved patient satisfaction, and the outpatient volume was effectively controlled. These results indicated that this program obtained the desired results in a Grade 3A hospital in China.

Project description:BackgroundThe value of early integration of palliative care has been demonstrated increasingly for the past years in both oncological and nononcological diseases. Outpatient palliative care services might represent a feasible approach to implement supportive care in early disease. In this study, we aimed at evaluating which patients use and benefit from outpatient palliative care services, which symptoms are addressed most, and which support services are installed in this early phase of disease.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the entire patient collective of a recently developed palliative care outpatient clinic within the leading university hospital in Switzerland for a period of five years. Sociodemographics, symptoms, and information on disease as well as patient-reported outcomes were retrieved from the electronic patient files. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed by descriptive statistics between groups and survival was analyzed by means of Kaplan-Meier estimates and log-rank test.ResultsWe report on 642 consultations of 363 patients between 2016 and 2020. Patients had a mean of 1.8 visits (range 1-10), with n = 340 patients (93.7%) of patients suffering from an oncological disease. Overall symptom load was high, with n = 401 (73.7%) of patient-reported outcomes reporting two or more symptoms. Distress levels of 5 or higher were reported in n = 78 (30.4%) of available patient-reported outcomes. Independent of the origin of primary disease and the length of the disease trajectory, patients were referred to the palliative care service in median only four months before death.ConclusionWe identify high symptom load and distress in the outpatient palliative patient population. Patients benefitted from supportive medication, improvement of ambulatory support systems and advance care planning, and more than one-third of patients remained in follow-up, indicating a good acceptance of the service. Overcoming the overall late referral could, however, further increase the quality of life at earlier stages of disease.

Dataset Information

Questionnaire survey about use of an online appointment booking system in one large tertiary public hospital outpatient service center in China.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Questionnaire survey about use of an online appointment booking system in one large tertiary public hospital outpatient service center in China.

Similar Datasets

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