Quality of multiple sclerosis out-patient health care services with focus on patient reported experiences

BACKGROUND: To investigate multiple sclerosis (MS) patients’ satisfaction with out-patient follow-up in a general neurological hospital department. Patients with definite MS living in Vest-Agder county, Norway were invited to answer a questionnaire comprising one question regarding overall satisfaction, and 24 questions regarding demographics, disease characteristics, and experiences with different aspects of the health care services. RESULTS: Out of 330 invited patients, 159 responded (48%). Mean overall satisfaction with health care was 3.5 (SD = 1.03) on a 1–5 Likert scale (1 = not at all, 5 = to a very large extent). The best sub scores were given on confidence in the physician’s competence (mean = 4.01), the physician speaks in an understandable way (mean = 4.07), expectation of good treatment (mean = 3.72), and perception of being submitted to wrong treatment (mean = 1.5). The worst scores were given on satisfaction with frequency of outpatient appointments (mean = 2.89) and delay of outpatient appointments (mean = 3.07). Four factors were associated with high overall satisfaction; receiving the disease modifying drug natalizumab (B = 0.549, p = 0.004), satisfaction with frequency of outpatient appointments (B = 0.242, p < 0.001), experience that the physician facilitates talking about what the patient finds important (B = 0.218, p = 0.001), and confidence with the physician’s competence (B = 0.453, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The patients were rather satisfied with the content of follow-up, and less satisfied with the structure. Regular and predictable contact with a trustworthy physician that facilitates that the patient is able to talk about what is important was associated with higher overall satisfaction. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13104-017-2568-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.