Overall outpatient satisfaction and its components: perceived changes at the Huntington VA Medical Center over five years.

The number of veterans obtaining healthcare services at Huntington Veteran's Administration Medical Center (HVAMC) had significantly increased over the five-year span from fiscal year 2000 through fiscal year 2004. The authors' purpose in this study was to determine changes in outpatient satisfaction levels at HVAMC over that five-year period. The authors assessed the following specific measures of patient satisfaction: courtesy, access, patient preferences, coordination of care, education and information, emotional support, overall quality, pharmacy services, and overall satisfaction. Of the 17,000 patients meeting the criteria, 630 were randomly selected; 195 patients completed surveys, resulting in a 31% response rate. Results demonstrated an overall significantly higher level of patient satisfaction than five years previously. On the basis of these results, the medical center administration can probably conclude that any process he improvements made over the five-year period have been successful.