Patients' priorities for ambulatory hospital care centres. A survey and discrete choice experiment among elderly and chronically ill patients of a Dutch hospital.
Health Expect
; 12(1): 92-105, 2009 Mar.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19250155
OBJECTIVE: This study established patients' preferences regarding the facilities in an adjacent centre for ambulatory hospital care. It also identified determinants of patients' choice to visit this centre instead of the regional hospital. METHODS: A questionnaire survey among 1477 elderly and chronically ill people (response 72%) assessed patients' expectations regarding (a) quality of hospital care, (b) facilities in centres for ambulatory hospital care, and (c) future use of these centres. Additionally, 75 patients participated in discrete choice experiments about their decision to visit a centre for ambulatory hospital care or the regional hospital. RESULTS: Respondents prioritized facilities for examination and medical consultations in the ambulatory care centres. Half of the respondents also valued paramedic care, information desks and pharmacies as centre facilities. Most patients living near a future centre for ambulatory care would rather visit this centre than the regional hospital. However, they favoured seeing their familiar physician, short waiting lists and appointments scheduled consecutively on 1 day. If these aspects were not guaranteed at the adjacent centres, more patients chose to visit the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Although patients value most facilities, they set clear priorities. Furthermore, this study showed three important conditions in the decision to visit an ambulatory care centre; (1) the possibility to see their familiar physician, (2) to have consecutive appointments, and (3) a short waiting list. These three factors were more important to patients than proximity. Thus, when choosing between a hospital and an adjacent centre for ambulatory care, quality aspects matter.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Servicio Ambulatorio en Hospital
/
Enfermedad Crónica
/
Satisfacción del Paciente
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Aspecto:
Patient_preference
Límite:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Health Expect
Asunto de la revista:
PESQUISA EM SERVICOS DE SAUDE
/
SAUDE PUBLICA
Año:
2009
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Países Bajos
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido