title: Patient satisfaction with emergency house calls.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify determinants of patient satisfaction with emergency house calls and to assess the properties of a satisfaction measurement questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patient survey, combined with routinely collected information on the circumstances of the house call.
  
  
  METHODS
  Emergency house calls provided by an independent emergency care organization (ECO) in Geneva, Switzerland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive sample of 389 patients (67% response rate).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patient satisfaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  patient age and sex, type of medical problem, time of visit, waiting time, duration of visit, perceived effectiveness of treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The satisfaction questionnaire was easy to administer. Factor analysis identified 3 separate dimensions of satisfaction, which pertained to the visit itself, to access and to general attitude toward the ECO. Validation tests were consistent with expectations. In multivariate analysis, older patient age and greater perceived treatment effectiveness predicted independently all satisfaction scales. Presence of a mixed physical and mental problem reduced satisfaction with the visit itself only, a delay between the phone call and the visit exceeding one hour reduced satisfaction with access and worsened the attitude toward the ECO.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The instrument used to measure patient satisfaction with emergency house calls performed well. Overall levels of satisfaction were high. Perceived effectiveness of treatment was the strongest correlate of patient satisfaction. Monitoring of patient satisfaction in emergency settings may contribute to improvements of quality of care.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland. perneger@cmu.unige.ch
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Perneger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vouilloz
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greder
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Froidevaux
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Froidevaux
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000592:standards*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland