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. 2016 Jun;3(2):39-42.
doi: 10.1177/2374373516652253. Epub 2016 Jun 10.

The Influence of Wait Time on Patient Satisfaction in the Orthopedic Clinic

Tyler M Kreitz  1   2 , Brian S Winters  1   3 , David I Pedowitz  1   3
Affiliations

The Influence of Wait Time on Patient Satisfaction in the Orthopedic Clinic

Tyler M Kreitz et al. J Patient Exp. 2016 Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is of increasing importance in the delivery of quality healthcare and may influence provider reimbursement. The purpose of this study is to examine how patient wait time relates to their level of satisfaction and likelihood to recommend an orthopedic clinic to others.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on standardized new patient survey data collected at a single orthopedic clinic from June 2011 through October 2014.

Results: A total of 3125 and 3151 responses were collected for satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the practice. The mean wait time was 27.3 ± 11.3 minutes. The likelihood of obtaining an "excellent" (odds ratio [OR]: 0.86, P = .01081) or "excellent/very good" (OR: 0.82, P = .0199) satisfaction demonstrated significant correlation with wait time in 15-minute intervals. The likelihood of obtaining an "agree" (OR: 0.9, P = .10575) and "strongly agree/agree" (OR: 0.85, P = .139) response to recommend the practice demonstrated no correlation during the same interval.

Conclusion: Minimizing wait times in the orthopedic clinic may improve patient satisfaction but may not affect their likelihood of recommending the practice to others.

Keywords: orthopedics; outpatient clinic; patient satisfaction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), as error bars, for obtaining an excellent and excellent or very good response to overall satisfaction per calendar year surveyed. Also shows OR with corresponding 95% CI, as error bars, for obtaining a strongly agree and strongly agree or agree response to likelihood to recommend the practice per calendar year surveyed. *P < .05 was considered significant.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Odds ratio with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), as error bars, for excellent and excellent or very good response to overall satisfaction per 15 minutes of additional wait time. Also shows OR with corresponding 95% CI, as error bars, for strongly agree and strongly agree or agree responses to likelihood to recommend the practice per 15 minutes of additional wait time. *P < .05 was considered significant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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