Analysis of patient experience at public hospitals in China

Objective To get an understanding of the patient experience in public hospitals nationwide, and to evaluate the implementation of the Action Plan to Improve Health Care. Methods Supported by the mobile technology, from September 6, 2017 to December 15, 2018, the authors conducted an online survey that measured the satisfaction of both inpatients and outpatients at secondary and tertiary hospitals across the country. 15 questions from six dimensions including registration experience, patient-doctor communication, nurse-patient communication, the healthcare signage system, responsiveness of care providers and privacy protection were prepared for outpatients, while 20 questions from nine aspects such as nurse-patient communication, patient-doctor communication, pain management, medication communication, admission and discharge information, responsiveness of care-givers, food service, friendliness to patient family, and the healthcare signage system were directed at inpatients. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to describe the basic features of the data. Results 9.18 million valid responses from outpatients and another 5.38 million from inpatients were obtained. The overall satisfaction rate with outpatient services had reached a score of 90.45 points where nurse-patient communication stands out as the top-rated dimension and privacy protection gets the lowest rating. On the other hand, the inpatient satisfaction stands at a score of 93.01 with friendliness to patient family receiving the top score and patient-doctor communication the lowest. Conclusions Despite the positive feedback Chinese patients give on the outpatient care they receive, we should make efforts to improve the outpatient care environment, the wayfinding system, privacy protection, and responsiveness of care-givers. Key words: Hospitals, public; Outpatients; Inpatients; Patient experience; Satisfaction