Patient satisfaction as quality indicator in a nuclear medicine department

Objective. To assess patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a Nuclear Medicine department. Material and methods. A questionnaire was designed with 9 closed questions, 1 with a numerical scale (1-10) and 1 with an open question for suggestions. The questions included different quality dimensions of the department related with waiting time for the scan, information, facilities, attention manner with department staff and global satisfaction (numerical scale, 1-10). Dissatisfaction was determined by analyzing the written complaints for the last 6 years. Results. A total of 671 questionnaires were obtained, 58% of those surveyed being women. The mean age of patients was 56.5 (+/- 16.26). The information provided was correct in 81.7% of cases. Equipment and facilities were correct for 74.5% of patients. Waiting list and waiting time were correct for 70% and 66.4% respectively. The attention manner of the department staff was the most satisfactory dimension (98.7%). Global satisfaction was positive (>= 7 out of 10) in 82.8% of the patients. 29 complaints were received. Most of them were based on waiting list (12) and disagreement with assistance (9). Conclusions. Global satisfaction was high in most of patients. Waiting time was the dimension with the lowest level of satisfaction and subsidiary of improvement plans. The primary spontaneous complain by our patients was due to the waiting list.