Validation of a tool to assess patient satisfaction, waiting times, healthcare utilization, and cost

Abstract

Aim Patients’ experience of the quality of care received throughout their continuum of care can be used to direct quality improvement efforts in areas where they are most needed. This study aims to establish validity and reliability of the Healthcare Access and Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (HAPSQ) – a tool that collects patients’ experience that quantifies aspect of care used to make judgments about quality from the perspective of the Alberta Quality Matrix for Health (AQMH). Background The AQMH is a framework that can be used to assess and compare the quality of care in different healthcare settings. The AQMH provides a common language, understanding, and approach to assessing quality. The HAPSQ is one tool that is able to assess quality of care according to five of six AQMH’s dimensions. Methods This was a prospective methodologic study. Between March and October 2015, a convenience sample of patients presenting with chronic full-thickness rotator cuff tears was recruited prospectively from the University of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Reliability of the HAPSQ was assessed using test–retest reliability [interclass correlation coefficient (ICC)>0.70]. Validity was assessed through content validity (patient interviews, floor and ceiling effects), criterion validity (percent agreement >70%), and construct validity (hypothesis testing). Findings Reliability testing was completed on 70 patients; validity testing occurred on 96 patients. The mean duration of symptoms was three years (SD: 5.0, range: 0.1–29). Only out-of-pocket utilization possessed an ICC<0.70. Patients reported that items were relevant and appropriate to measuring quality of care. No floor or ceiling effects were present. Criterion validity was reached for all items assessed. A priori hypotheses were confirmed. The HAPSQ represents an inexpensive, reliable, and valid approach toward collecting clinical information across a patient’s continuum of care.

Health Satisfaction in Health Care between Patients of 3rd Tertiary Allergy Center in Kirkuk with Salam Primary Health Care Center Patients in Kirkuk

“…The focus on value has become an objective for healthcare rather than volume when paying for care costs, and new care delivery models aim to harmonize it and improve its quality (14) . Patient experience in assessing the quality of healthcare received can be used to improve healthcare quality for those most in need (15) . E-health applications are designed to optimize the utilization of healthcare services and to actively participate in patients' recovery, thus reducing health care expenditures and improving their quality (16) .Continuity of care (COC) is a fundamental and widespread principle of primary care and has been associated with patient satisfaction and use of health care (17) .…”