Patient satisfaction in ambulatory surgery.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between patient satisfaction and selected variables that were identified as important in ambulatory surgery. The study addressed whether the selected variables are associated with the satisfaction of patients admitted to the hospital for ambulatory surgery. A descriptive correlational study was conducted in two hospital settings with 130 ambulatory surgical patients. Nurses (n = 16) in the ambulatory surgery departments completed a nurse demographic data form. The patient sample differed between settings in age, diagnosis, and use of computers. The nurse sample differed in the number of nurses with computers in their homes and their satisfaction with nursing. Results showed that patients' higher ratings of postoperative pain correlated with higher patient satisfaction. Patients with high postoperative pain rated satisfaction with pain management lower. A point biserial correlation (rpb = .22) indicated a significant correlation between patient satisfaction and nurses' use of computers to collect and record patient information (P = .01). The patient sample in the setting where computers were used showed a higher mean patient satisfaction.