The association between patient experiences in outpatient care and their characteristics in Slovenia

BACKGROUND: The aim of the cross-sectional study was to measure adult patients’ experiences in the outpatient specialist medical settings in the fields of neurology and neurosurgery, cardiology, ophthalmology, gynaecology and obstetrics, orthopaedics and oncology with radiotherapy, and explore the association between the general score of the healthcare service given by patients and their socio-demographic characteristics and health status. METHODS: The survey used mixed mode design (i.e. paper questionnaire and online survey), took into account various aspects of healthcare such as waiting period to the visit, admission, waiting time in the waiting room, physician work, nurse work, privacy, patient rights information, and familiarity with continuation of treatment. As part of the study, patients evaluated overall care at a specialist outpatient clinic on a scale of 0 to 10. The questionnaire used has been recently developed, based on a review of the literature and focus groups with patients. The questionnaire was also cognitively tested and piloted before national rollout. Multi-level regression analysis was used as the main method of statistical analysis. RESULTS: The national survey was conducted in autumn 2022. A total of 10,533 valid completed questionnaires from 210 specialist outpatient clinics were received. 82.4% of the surveyed patients rated the medical treatment with a score of 9 or 10 with the average rating 9.34. Preliminary statistical analysis indicates the presence of association between socio-demographic/health status variables on one hand and overall assessment of treatment on the other. CONCLUSIONS: A possible association between socio-demographic and health status factors with overall score on specialist outpatient clinic rating calls for caution when comparing outpatient clinics that care for patients with different socio-demographic characteristics and health status. KEY MESSAGES: • There is an association between sociodemographic factors and health status of patients with overall score of healthcare experiences in specialist outpatient clinics. • The association calls for caution when comparing outpatient clinics.