title: Perceived quality in Day Surgery Units Proposal of an enquiry postoperative questionnaire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessing patient satisfaction could be particularly useful in Day Surgery Units, as it helps maintaining and increasing medical care demand. Moreover, it provides feedback that turns out useful for improving quality in departments, and for assessing competence and skill of the whole staff. Background and aim - The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality perceived in a day surgery unit through a questionnaire, covering the 10 main aspects of the care pathway.
  
  
  METHODS
  The results of a questionnaire filled by patients undergoing Day Surgery between January 2007 and December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients undergoing surgery between 2007 and 2009 filled up the questionnaire at the time of the discharge, whereas those operated on between 2009 and 2012 filled up the same questionnaire 30 days after discharge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results were good in terms of number of returned questionnaires, underlining its comprehensibility and suitability to be filled out. The questionnaires' scores were good in both groups, although quality perceived by the group that completed it in 30 days after surgery were lightly better than the other group's.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The advantages of the questionnaire consisted of an overall improvement of the quality of care, whereas limitations consisted of the difficulty in setting up the questionnaire accurately, interpreting patients' answers correctly, and dispensing the questionnaire in a timely fashion, in order to evaluate the quality perceived by the patients without any bias related to delay, pain and anxiety.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Day Surgery, Nursing, Questionnaire, Quality.
authors.forename: Piergaspare
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Palumbo
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perotti
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Amatucci
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Pangrazi
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leuzzi
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vietri
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Illuminati
mesh_terms: D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D057566:Self Report