PATIENT PERCEPTION OF SERVICES IN A TERTIARY HEALTHCARE SETTING

Dr. Jeffrey S. SONI FPCPharm* and, Dr. Davina Izilen OTUORIMUO PharmD

ABSTRACT

Background: Patient assessments of care is increasingly being considered an important dimension of quality of care service and patients’ perception of quality of care is critical to understand the relationship between quality of care and utilization of health services. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine patients’ perception of services and barriers that influence utilization of the health care facilities. Methods: A prospective, cross sectional, non-randomized study was carried out in the University of Benin teaching hospital using self-completed, structured questionnaires, administered to patients while waiting for their drugs at the different outpatient pharmacy sections in the hospital. Data obtained were entered into Microsoft Excel and checked before sorting. These were then analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Results: A perceived barrier to healthcare facilities was identified to be excessive waiting time with weighted average of 3.47. The longest wait was seen at the nursing department. The level of Patient satisfaction was highest at the physician’s clinic (3.71); medical laboratory Unit (2.79) and the pharmacy Unit (2.56). The level of satisfaction was lowest at the medical records Unit (2.51). Conclusion: This study clearly showed that excessive waiting time was a major barrier to health seeking behavior by users of the healthcare facility and the average level of perceived patient satisfaction was 3.03 of health care services at the university of Benin teaching hospital.

Keywords: Patient Perception, satisfaction, barriers and healthcare utility.