Patient Satisfaction With Healthcare Services Of Public Hospitals In Outpatient Departments(OPDs)and Policy Implications

Patient satisfaction can identify specific areas of improvement in public sector hospitals.However,the Pakistani health care system and quality of service delivery are rarely assessed through the perspective of patient satisfaction.This research demonstrated the performance of public health care systems in Pakistan in terms of physical services(tangible and environmental),doctor-patient communication,and pharmacy services,laboratory services,doctor services,nurse services,registration services and waiting for time-based on patient satisfaction.Primary data were collected from the patients who participated in the study were visitors of public hospitals' outpatient departments.A total of 1000 questionnaires were circulated,and 850 were received.The confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regression techniques were employed to analyze the data.The results revealed that laboratory,pharmacy services as well doctor services,nurses services,waiting time,had positive significant effects on patient satisfaction,while doctor-patient communication,physical facilities and registration services had an insignificant relationship with patient satisfaction.According to the results of this study,the majority of patients have poor experience regarding pharmacy services,laboratory services,doctor services,nurse's services and waiting time,while they feel lower satisfaction with doctor-patient communication,physical service,and registration services in Pakistan.Therefore,it is suggested that a significant communication gap exists in the doctor-patient setting and that Pakistan's health care system is deprived of physical facilities as well as neglected registration services.