The effect of patient qualifications and number of patient accompanist on patient's satisfaction

OBJECTIVES Patient satisfaction surveys are important information sources for the evaluation of the quality and continuity of medical care. In this study, it is aimed to investigate the impact of patient's qualifications and the number of patient accompanists on the patient satisfaction and to find out whether there is a relationship between the number of patient accompanist and discharge status of patient. METHODS All patients over 18 years old who have applied to emergency department within one month, along with the relevant patient information were recorded. The patients and patient accompanists were asked questions by an unrelated staff after the patient was discharged. RESULTS The average of patients (n = 264) satisfied with emergency department is 100 ± 0.9 (%95CI 88.4-92.3). It was observed that the patient satisfaction is directly proportional to the age and inversely proportional to the educational level (r = 0.241, p = 0.0001, r = -0.236 p = 0.0001; respectively). It was found out that the patients who were male, hospitalized and had ≥2 accompanists were statically more satisfied (p = 0.002), however; there was no relationship between the patient satisfaction and the complaints and the presence of an accompanist (p = 0.408). CONCLUSIONS It was determined that the satisfaction levels of the patients and their accompanist were high. Parameters such as male gender, age over 65 and living with the family increase patient satisfaction. Satisfaction of the patient accompanists increases if the patient is female and hospitalized. High education level decreases the level of patient satisfaction.