Survey of patients' preference for the location of rehabilitation ward rounds.

OBJECTIVE To survey inpatients in a rehabilitation hospital regarding their preference for ward rounds to be conducted at the bedside or in a consulting room. DESIGN Before-after trial. Patients were seen on ward round at the bedside during one week and then in a consulting room the following week. Patients were asked about their preferred setting and their reasons for their preference. PATIENTS Rehabilitation inpatients (n=45) in Melbourne, Australia with predominantly acute neurological and orthopaedic impairments. METHODS Age, gender and impairment category of respondents were noted. Ward round preference was analysed assuming a binomial distribution. RESULTS A statistically significant number (p=0.04) of patients preferred to be seen in the consulting room (n=29, 64%). There were 13 (29%) who preferred the bedside and 3 (7%) indicated no preference. There was no influence of gender (p=0.1) or impairment category (p=0.3) on preference, but younger patients preferred the consulting room (p=0.03). CONCLUSION Most rehabilitation patients in hospital would rather attend a ward round held in a consulting room than at the bedside. The consulting room has many advantages over the traditional bedside location for ward rounds in a rehabilitation hospital.