Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T22:58:16.211Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does a waiting room video about what to expect during an emergency department visit improve patient satisfaction?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Linda Papa ,
David C. Seaberg ,
Elizabeth Rees ,
Kevin Ferguson ,
Richard Stair ,
Bruce Goldfeder  and
David Meurer
Linda Papa*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Orlando Regional Medical Center, University of Florida, Orlando, Fla.
David C. Seaberg
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Elizabeth Rees
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Kevin Ferguson
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Richard Stair
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
Bruce Goldfeder
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
David Meurer
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
*
Department of Emergency Medicine, Orlando Regional Medical Center 86 W. Underwood (S-200), Orlando FL 32806; lpstat@aol.com

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

We created an instructional waiting room video that explained what patients should expect during their emergency department (ED) visit and sought to determine whether preparing patients using this video would 1) improve satisfaction, 2) decrease perceived waiting room times and 3) increase calls to an outpatient referral line in an ambulatory population.

Methods:

This serial cross-sectional study took place over a period of 2 months before (control) and 2 months after the introduction of an educational waiting room video that described a typical patient visit to our ED. We enrolled a convenience sample of adult patients or parents of pediatric patients who were triaged to the ED waiting room; a research assistant distributed and collected the surveys as patients were being discharged after treatment. Subjects were excluded if they were admitted. The primary outcome was overall satisfaction measured on a 5-point Likert scale, and secondary outcomes included perceived waiting room time, and the number of outpatient referral-line calls.

Results:

There were 1132 subjects surveyed: 551 prevideo and 581 postvideo. The mean age was 38 years (standard deviation [SD] 18), 61% were female and the mean ED length of stay was 5.9 hours (SD 3.6). Satisfaction scores were significantly higher postvideo, with 65% of participants ranking their visit as either “excellent” or “very good,” compared with 58.1% in the prevideo group (p = 0.019); however, perceived waiting room time was not significantly different between the groups (p = 0.24). Patient calls to our specialty outpatient clinic referral line increased from 1.5 per month (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58–2.42) to 4.5 per month (95% CI 1.19–7.18) (p = 0.032). After adjusting for possible covariates, the most significant determinants of overall satisfaction were perceived waiting room time (odds ratio [OR] 0.41, 95% CI 0.34–0.48) and having seen the ED waiting room video (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.06–1.86).

Conclusion:

Preparing patients for their ED experience by describing the ED process of care through a waiting room video can improve ED patient satisfaction and the knowledge of outpatient clinic resources in an ambulatory population. Future studies should research the implementation of this educational intervention in a randomized fashion.

Keywords

emergency departmentemergency medicinepatient satisfactionpatient educationwaiting roomvideo
Type
Original Research • Recherche originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , July 2008 , pp. 347 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2008

References

1.Kologlu, M, Agalar, F, Cakmakci, M. Emergency department information: does it effect patients’ perception and satisfaction about the care given in an emergency department? Eur J Emerg Med 1999;6:245–8.Google Scholar
2.Krishel, S, Baraff, LJ. Effect of emergency department information on patient satisfaction. Ann Emerg Med 1993;22:568–72.Google Scholar
3.Bjorvell, H, Stieg, J. Patients’ perceptions of the health care received in an emergency department. Ann Emerg Med 1991;20:734–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Corbett, SW, White, PD, Wittlake, WA. Benefits of an informational videotape for emergency department patients. Am J Emerg Med 2000;18:67–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Pager, CK. Randomised controlled trial of preoperative information to improve satisfaction with cataract surgery. Br J Ophthalmol 2005;89:10–3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Greimel, ER, Gappmayer-Locker, E, Girardi, FL, et al. Increasing women’s knowledge and satisfaction with cervical cancer screening. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 1997;18:273–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Jean Wiese, H, Boethel, C, Phillips, B, et al. CPAP compliance: video education may help! Sleep Med 2005;6:171–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Lin, PC, Lin, LC, Lin, JJ. Comparing the effectiveness of different educational programs for patients with total knee arthroplasty. Orthop Nurs 1997;16:43–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Snyder-Ramos, SA, Seintsch, H, Bottiger, BW, et al. Patient satisfaction and information gain after the preanesthetic visit: a comparison of face-to-face interview, brochure, and video. Anesth Analg 2005;100:1753–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Maller, CE, Twitty, VJ, Sauve, A. A video approach to interactive patient education. J Perianesth Nurs 1997;12:82–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Ader, DN, Seibring, AR, Bhaskar, P, et al. Information seeking and interactive videodisc preparation for third molar extraction. [discussion 31–22]. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1992;50:27–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Ruthman, JL, Ferrans, CE. Efficacy of a video for teaching patients about prostate cancer screening and treatment. Am J Health Promot 2004;18:292–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Hall, MF, Press, I. Keys to patient satisfaction in the emergency department: results of a multiple facility study. Hosp Health Serv Adm 1996;41:515–32.Google Scholar
14.Burstin, HR, Conn, A, Setnik, G, et al. Benchmarking and quality improvement: the Harvard Emergency Department Quality Study. Am J Med 1999;107:437–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Boudreaux, ED, Ary, RD, Mandry, CV, et al. Determinants of patient satisfaction in a large, municipal ED: the role of demographic variables, visit characteristics, and patient perceptions. Am J Emerg Med 2000;18:394–400.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Goldwag, R, Berg, A, Yuval, D, et al. Predictors of patient dissatisfaction with emergency care. Isr Med Assoc J 2002;4:603–6.Google Scholar
17.Thompson, DA, Yarnold, PR, Williams, DR, et al. Effects of actual waiting time, perceived waiting time, information delivery, and expressive quality on patient satisfaction in the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med 1996;28:657–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Kravitz, RL, Callahan, EJ, Azari, R, et al. Assessing patients’ expectations in ambulatory medical practice. Does the measurement approach make a difference? J Gen Intern Med 1997;12:67–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Kravitz, RL, Cope, DW, Bhrany, V, et al. Internal medicine patients’ expectations for care during office visits. J Gen Intern Med 1994;9:75–81.Google Scholar
20.Trout, A, Magnusson, AR, Hedges, JR. Patient satisfaction investigations and the emergency department: what does the literature say? Acad Emerg Med 2000;7:695–709.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Thompson, DA, Yarnold, PR. Relating patient satisfaction to waiting time perceptions and expectations: the disconfirmation paradigm. Acad Emerg Med 1995;2:1057–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.Hedges, JR, Trout, A, Magnusson, AR. Satisfied Patients Exiting the Emergency Department (SPEED). Acad Emerg Med. 2002;9:15–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Cooke, J, Finneran, K. A clearing in the crowd: innovations in emergency services. Pap Ser United Hosp Fund N Y 1994;(Jan):1–43.Google ScholarPubMed