Philippine Primary Care Studies, UP Health Service, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
Department of Accounting and Finance, Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
Int J Health Plann Manage. 2019 Oct;34(4):e1651-e1660. doi: 10.1002/hpm.2862. Epub 2019 Jul 29.
Primary care is generally perceived by the public as an inefficient, low-quality source of health care in the Philippines. Taking a toll on local health policies, the repercussions of these views warrant a more holistic approach in understanding patient experience. This paper evaluates the impact of strengthening primary care services on patient satisfaction at the University of the Philippines Health Service (UPHS). A prevalidated 16-item, 5-scale questionnaire was distributed to 200 eligible patients at the start of the study in 2016 and then again in 2017. A significant increase of highly satisfied patients in 13 of 16 questionnaire items was recorded after primary care services in the facility were strengthened. The highest satisfaction scores were reported for overall wait times, coordination of care, and health advice. Our findings suggest that improvements in primary care services through digitalizing health records, financing laboratory and pharmaceutical services, and retraining staff accounts for significant improvements in patient satisfaction. This ultimately bears potential for better clinical outcomes in form of patient retention and long-term care.
在菲律宾，公众普遍认为初级保健是一种效率低下、低质量的医疗保健来源。这些观点对当地卫生政策产生了影响，因此有必要采取更全面的方法来理解患者体验。本文评估了加强初级保健服务对菲律宾大学卫生服务中心（UPHS）患者满意度的影响。在 2016 年开始的研究中，向 200 名符合条件的患者分发了一份经过预先验证的 16 项 5 分量表问卷，然后在 2017 年再次分发。在该设施的初级保健服务得到加强后，16 项问卷中有 13 项的高度满意患者显著增加。总体等待时间、护理协调和健康建议的满意度得分最高。我们的研究结果表明，通过数字化健康记录、为实验室和制药服务提供资金以及重新培训工作人员，改善初级保健服务可显著提高患者满意度。这最终有可能通过患者保留和长期护理来实现更好的临床结果。
