Understanding Patient Satisfaction in Radiology Services

Radiology is a part of the health service industry and as a service provider one needs to understand quality and delivery of service, which includes knowledge of customer service, customer satisfaction and all of its related issues [1]. Patient satisfaction is defined as the extent to which the patients feel that their needs and expectations are being met by the service provider . Patient satisfaction is an expression of the gap between expected and perceived characteristics of service [2].

It is a subjective concept aimed to relate the grade at which health care responds to the expectations of the patient or community. Also it is a multidimensional affected by thoughts or even previous experiences which make its measurements and comprehension

Implementation of recent government health care policy of basing pay to hospitals for inpatient care on the quality of care instead of just the quantity of service provided, however, has changed the influence factor of patient satisfaction and given it direct impact on the income of healthcare facilities. Because quality of care ratings now determine government payouts, and patient satisfaction surveys now significantly decide assessment of care, patient satisfaction is of critical importance to every practice. With the recent healthcare reform, patients’ satisfaction is at the forefront of topics in medical centers and suddenly new changes in determining comparative quality, payments, and rankings of services have become essential objectives even on a public forum. Within the hospital system, Radiology Departments play a major role in influencing patient satisfaction. Their high through-put, diverse mix of patient populations, disease entities, procedure-related discomfort including claustrophobia, and examination types ranging from routine imaging to emergency exams pose unique challenges

Though it does not ensure that the patient will remain loyal to the doctor or the hospital, it is still a strong motivating factor. Patient satisfaction is only an indirect or a proxy indicator of the quality of doctor or hospital performance. Delivery of patient-focussed care requires that we provide care in a particular way, not just sometimes or usually, but always. It must be every patient every time.It is an ironic fact - the better you are, the better you must become. Quality does not stand still. It should be linear and always ascending. One should strive to provide better care and soar above each and every patient's expectations.“A satisfied patient is a practice builder”. [6]

With the development of health care reform, patients’ care has been the major focus of most discussions, and this may be due to the need to reinforce strategies whereby care is of benefit to patients and to enhance a more fulfilling practice among health care providers[8].

Quality improvement is a formal process to examine and improve performance through the analysis of data. The primary goal of quality improvement is to enhance patients’