Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 16, 2021; 9(26): 7750-7761
Published online Sep 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i26.7750
Effect and satisfaction of outpatient services by precision valuation reservation registration
Hai-Jun Jin, An-Lan Cheng, Jin-Yan Qian, Li-Mei Lin, Huan-Mei Tang
Hai-Jun Jin, Jin-Yan Qian, Li-Mei Lin, Department of Out-Patient Internal Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China
An-Lan Cheng, Department of School of Public Health, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, Shandong Province, China
Huan-Mei Tang, Department of Nursing, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Jin HJ and Tang HM designed the research study; Jin HJ, Qian JY and Lin LM performed the research; Jin HJ and Cheng AL analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University Institutional Review Board, SWYX: NO. 2021-067.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was waived.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have nothing to disclose.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the corresponding author at tanghuanmei2021@126.com.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Huan-Mei Tang, Associate Chief Nurse, Department of Nursing, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, No. 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China. tanghuanmei2021@126.com
Received: April 6, 2021
Peer-review started: April 6, 2021
First decision: April 23, 2021
Revised: May 6, 2021
Accepted: June 7, 2021
Article in press: June 7, 2021
Published online: September 16, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Due to improvements in living standards, people are now paying more attention to their health. In China, more patients choose to go to large or well-known hospitals, which leads to constant crowding of outpatient clinics in these hospitals.

AIM

To establish precision valuation reservation registration aimed at shortening waiting time, improving patient experience and promoting the satisfaction of outpatients and medical staff.

METHODS

On the basis of the implementation of a conventional appointment system, more reasonable time intervals were set for different doctors by evaluating the actual capacity of each doctor to receive patients, and appointment times were made more accurate through intervention. The change in consultation waiting time of patients was then compared. Correlations between the consultation waiting time of patients and the satisfaction of patients or satisfaction of medical staff were analyzed.

RESULTS

After precision valuation reservation registration, the average consultation waiting time of patients reduced from 18.47 min to 10.11 min (t = 8.90, P < 0.001). The satisfaction score of patients increased from 91.33 to 96.27 (t = -8.62, P < 0.001), and the satisfaction score of medical staff increased from 90.51 to 96.04 (t = -10.50, P < 0.001). The consultation waiting time of patients was negatively correlated with their satisfaction scores (γ = -0.89, P < 0.001). The consultation waiting time of patients was also negatively correlated with medical staff satisfaction scores (γ = -0.96, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Precision valuation reservation registration significantly shortened outpatient waiting times and improve the satisfaction of not only patients but also medical staff. This approach played an important role in improving outpatient services, provided a model that is supported by relevant evidence and could continuously improve the quality of management. Precision valuation reservation registration is worth promoting and applying in the clinic.

Keywords: Precision valuation reservation, Shorten waiting time, Effect on outpatient service, Satisfaction, Outpatients, Medical staff

Core Tip: Following precision valuation reservation registration, we obtained waiting times of patients and satisfaction scores of patients and medical staff. The average consultation waiting time of patients reduced and the satisfaction scores of patients and medical staff increased. The consultation waiting time of patients was negatively correlated with satisfaction scores. This approach played an important role in improving outpatient services, provided a model that is supported by relevant evidence and could continuously improve the quality of management.