The patient's view of quality in psychiatric outpatient care

Accessible summary This paper describes Swedish outpatients' perception of the quality of psychiatric care they received. A large number of patients (1340) from 15 outpatient clinics participated in the study. A newly developed and tested questionnaire, the Quality in Psychiatric Care Out-Patient, was used. The patients' highest ratings were for Encounter (staffpatient interaction), the lowest were for Discharge. Most notably, quality of care was rated higher by women, older people, those with a partner, those with a lower educational level and those who were gainfully employed. In relation to the visit to the clinic, higher quality of care was associated with shorter waiting time, better information and meeting with fewer professions. Older people and those gainfully employed reported better mental health. The longer the waiting time and the greater the number of professions met, the poorer mental health was reported. The conclusion was that although a majority of the patients rated the quality of outpatient care as high, aspects of it remain unsatisfactory. The Quality in Psychiatric Care Out-Patient offers an easy way to assess patients' perception of the quality of care they receive as an outpatient and has a useful role to play in quality-assurance evaluations. Abstract The influence of demographic characteristics on patients' ratings of the quality of psychiatric outpatient care has been given little attention in research. The aim of the present study is to elucidate the quality of psychiatric care among outpatients and investigate demographic and clinical factors associated with the way in which this quality is perceived. A sample of 1340 outpatients from 15 general adult psychiatric clinics in Sweden completed the Quality in Psychiatric Care Out-Patient (QPCOP), with a response rate of 71%. The patients' highest ratings were for Encounter; the lowest were for Discharge. Most notably, quality of care was rated higher by women, older people, those with a partner, those with a lower educational level and those who were gainfully employed. In regard to visits to the clinic, higher quality of care was associated with shorter waiting time, better information and fewer professions encounters. Older people and those gainfully employed reported better mental health. Thus the QPCOP was associated with both demographic and clinical factors. In particular, wanting to come back to the clinic was the single strongest predictor of quality.