Patient evaluation of quality of emergency department care and associated factors

Objective: To assess the level of patients' overall satisfaction with emergency department care and to analyze factors that may influence their perception of quality. Method: Prospective study of a cohort of patients under the age of 65 years who were discharged from the emergency department in March 2011. The patients' answers to the following question served as the dependent variable: How would you assess your overall satisfaction with your experience in our emergency department? Independent variables were age, sex, day of the week, and assigned triage level. The survey also contained questions asking for evaluation of wait time, if the emergency department visit was the patient's first, if the patient's dignity had been respected, if the patient felt adequately informed, how staff (administrative personnel, nurses, physicians) had behaved and if they gave sufficient information, and patients' impressions of the emergency department premises (cleanliness, temperature, lighting, noise level). Multinomial logistic regression was performed on significant variables. Results: A total of 373 patients were surveyed; 158 (42.4%) evaluated their experience as completely satisfactory, 187 (50.1%) as satisfactory, and 28 (7.5%) as unsatisfactory. After regression analysis, the variables found to be associated with perceived dissatisfaction were a prolonged wait time, inconsiderate treatment by a physician, and a feeling of not being respected. Conclusions: Level of satisfaction, which was high in general in this cohort, is influenced mainly by perception of wait time, the physician's attitude, and a sense of being respected.