Patient satisfaction in gastroenterology clinics.

Satisfaction surveys of patients who had a gastrointestinal procedure at an ambulatory surgery center in 2002 were drawn from a national database and analyzed. The resulting data were used to report the status of patient satisfaction with their care and to illustrate several ways in which patient satisfaction data can be used to guide quality improvement efforts. It was found that patient satisfaction is generally quite high, with ratings of nurses and physicians topping the list. On the other hand, convenience factors such as parking and waiting times were rated lower. Uses of data to guide quality improvement efforts were illustrated in terms of response category percentages (i.e., percentage of time an item was rated "good," "poor," etc.) and a measure of item priority.