Which Outpatient Wait-Time Measures Are Related to Patient Satisfaction?

Long waits for appointments decrease patient satisfaction. Administrative wait-time measures are used by managers, but relationships between these measures and satisfaction have not been studied. Data from the Veterans Health Administration are used to examine the relationship between wait times and satisfaction. Outcome measures include patient-reported satisfaction and timely appointment access. Capacity and retrospective and prospective time stamp measures are calculated separately for new and returning patients. The time stamp measures consist of the date when the appointment was created in the scheduling system (create date [CD]) or the date the appointment was desired as the start date for wait-time computation. Logistic regression models predict patient satisfaction using these measures. The new-patient capacity, new-patient time stamp measures using CD, and the returning-patient desired-date prospective measure were significantly associated with patient satisfaction. Standard practices can be improved by targeting wait-time measures to patient subpopulations.