Patient satisfaction with specialized mental health service for obsessive-compulsive disorder

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is an important outcome variable that is increasingly used in mental health service evaluation. There are no results available for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) yet. METHODS: Using the Verona Service Satisfaction Scale, patient satisfaction with a specialized mental health service was examined in patients with OCD. RESULTS: OCD patients were overall satisfied with the professional help provided, whereas satisfaction with the professional involvement of relatives within the treatment and health care process was found to be quite low. Patients with more severe OCD, as measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, as well as chronically ill and more disabled patients were more likely to be dissatisfied with the overall care they received. Patient satisfaction plays an important role in the long-term course of an illness such OCD. This seems to be decreased so longer illness is not or badly treated. There is a stronger need for involvement of family members in the treatment and health care of patients with OCD. CONCLUSIONS: More OCD-specific treatment offers have to be established for patients with this long-term illness such as psychotherapy in groups.