title: Clinicians' perspectives on patient satisfaction in adult congenital heart disease clinics--a dimension of health care quality whose time has come.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patient-centered care and patient satisfaction represent key dimensions of health care quality. This is relevant for the growing number of patients with life-long conditions. In the present study, our goal was to examine clinicians' attitudes and behavior with respect to patient satisfaction in adult congenital heart disease outpatient clinics.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 34-question survey was developed to assess adult congenital heart disease clinicians' awareness, attitudes, and behavior relative to patient satisfaction and administered in-person or online to clinicians from the largely U.S.-based Adult Congenital Heart Association's database of adult congenital heart disease health care providers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 267 questionnaires were filled out: 108 were collected in person (79% response rate) and 159 online (17.5% response rate). Responses were received from physicians (161); nurses (73); physician assistants (20); and others (13). Although 85% of clinicians believed it was important to inquire about patient satisfaction, only 28% reported routinely inquiring about this dimension of care. Only 34% claimed they had adequate training to cope with varying levels of patient satisfaction, 44% stated that their department utilized patient satisfaction surveys, and 37% received feedback from the hospital management in the preceding 12 months. In multivariate analyses, clinicians that received feedback from the hospital management and had adequate training were more likely to inquire about patient satisfaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although patient satisfaction is perceived as an important dimension of quality care by adult congenital heart disease clinicians, most of them reported insufficient institutional support to achieve this. Our findings suggest that clinicians would benefit from health care organizations engaging them in the delivery of this dimension of health care quality.
authors.affiliation: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, Mass, USA.
authors.forename: Ronen
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rozenblum
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gianola
authors.forename: Raluca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ionescu-Ittu
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verstappen
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landzberg
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gurvitz
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: Ariane J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Marelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000628:therapy*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000151:congenital* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adult Congenital Heart Disease; Patient Satisfaction; Patient-Centered Care; Quality Improvement