A STUDY ON THE CONSUMER SATISFACTION OF THE OUT PATIENT DEPARTMENT AT PRIVATE HOSPITAL’S IN TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

Consumer satisfaction is an important parameter for assessing the quality of patient care services. There is a need to assess the health care systems regarding the consumer satisfaction as often as possible. The objectives of the study are a) To study the consumer opinion about the private hospitals OPD and its services. b) To assess the consumer satisfaction on the physical facilities and general facilities present in Hospital. C) To assess the opinion of the patients on the services provided by the doctors and Paramedical staff. A questionnaire was given to 100 patients at the end of their O.P.D visit. The items in the questionnaire referred to particulars of the patients such as age, sex, occupation, department requested, lab, and medical stores. While analyzing, they were grouped into categories like availability, clinical care, waiting time, and cost. The responses were expressed in proportions. The availability of services and clinical care was found to be satisfactory. 81% of the respondents found the communication by the doctor is good, 97% of the respondents were satisfied about the explanation of the disease by the doctor the average time required for consulting the doctor was 46.5 ± 20.9 min. But when time spent in pharmacy was considered, it was not significantly satisfactory. The cost of investigation was significantly moderate or high in 97% of the respondents. Recommendations are required for reduction of time spent in the pharmacy and the cost of investigations to improve consumer satisfaction.