Patient satisfaction index reaches nearly 80 percent

Patients register for health checkups at the National Haematology and Blood Transfusion Institute in Hanoi (Photo: congly.vn)

The survey evaluated the in-patient satisfaction level towards health check-ups and examination services, which was revealed at a conference on March 27 in Hanoi.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said the survey aimed to determine the needs of patients and shortcomings in the country’s healthcare system. The lessons learnt from the survey will help the health sector and hospitals improve their check-up and examination services.

In the coming time, the country will launch more activities to raise patient satisfaction level, Tien added.

The outcomes came from the pilot survey on patient satisfaction conducted from September 2016 to November 2017 by the Medical Services Administration (MSA) under the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Vietnam Initiative of Indiana University, according to MSA Director Luong Ngoc Khue.

The survey arrived at the PSI by interviewing nearly 3,000 in-patients who were discharged from 29 provincial and district hospitals in 29 provinces and cities nationwide.

It showed that among 29 provincial and district hospitals, five were rated very good, 16 good, eight fair and two average. Patients were asked about their evaluation of the access to health examination and treatment services, as well as medical infrastructure.

Patients were mostly satisfied with the access to health examination and treatment services, especially drug distribution and consultation services. They were dissatisfied with medical infrastructure such as bed and toilet and vehicles for patients. The patients also expressed low satisfaction towards examination and treatment expenses, despite more than 90 percent of them being covered with health insurance.

Another survey conducted by the MSA from December 2016 to December 2017, with more than one million responses submitted to its online portal, showed the country’s general in-patient PSI reached 75.6 percent./.

VNA