Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Review
Patient satisfaction investigations and the emergency department: what does the literature say?
Patient satisfaction is an indicator of the quality of care provided by emergency department (ED) personnel. It is this perception of satisfaction that becomes the basis for future ED choice or the recommendation of a specific ED to other potential patients. ⋯ Despite considerable methodologic variability, key themes (e.g., association of satisfaction with patient information, provider-patient interpersonal factors, and perceived waiting time) emerge from review of the ED patient satisfaction literature. To standardize future investigations, clinicians and investigators should use a common definition for the state of overall patient satisfaction, e.g., when the patient's own expectations for treatment and care are met (or exceeded). This common definition should be incorporated into the instrument used to measure overall ED patient satisfaction.
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The emergency department (ED) visit provides an opportunity for patient education. Many ED patients have poor access to regular health care, including patient education. ⋯ More importantly, published clinical studies evaluating patient education in both the ED and comparable settings support the hypothesis that ED-based patient education improves outcomes. The article discusses considerations for instructional material, highlights challenges to ED-based patient education, and suggests possibilities for future research.