Clinical Counseling Provided by Doctors to Patients Admitted in the Medical Wards and It’s Relation with the Patient Satisfaction - Abstract
Background: Counseling is the talkative therapy in which doctor provides information about disease and treatment to the patient with empathy and politeness. This information is the need and right of patients. Patient’s expectation regarding this need of information should be fulfilled to achieve the goal of patient satisfaction.
Objective: To assess the clinical counseling provided to patients admitted in medical wards of Jinnah Hospital Lahore, Pakistan and its effect on patient satisfaction.
Materials and methods: Two hundred patients admitted in medical wards of Jinnah Hospital Lahore were interviewed by using a structured questionnaire, and then counseling provided to them was evaluated by using a manual doctor’s counseling skill score and it was compared with patient satisfaction.
Results: Out of 200 patients, 101 (50.5%) were male and 99 (49.5%) were female. Mean age was 44.57 ± 34 years and mean duration of stay in ward before interview was 4.62 ± 7.6 days. Forty-nine percent were illiterate, 32% were under-matriculation and 19% were matriculation or above. Seventy-seven per cent knew name of their disease and 60% knew cause of their disease, 69.5% were told diagnosis by their doctor, 55% were explained results of their investigations, 77.5% were explained about their treatment, 93.5% were satisfied from their doctors, 90.5% found their doctor co-operative, 99% found their doctor polite and friendly and 69.5% found their doctors available to listen their complaints. Mean counseling score 6.71 ± 3.88. Significant positive associations were observed for relationship of patient satisfaction to behavior and co-operation of doctor, complaint listening, treatment explaining and counseling skill score.
Conclusion: More patients are satisfied if they are counselled better. Main variables affecting patient satisfaction significantly are politeness and co-operation of the doctor, complaint listening by doctor, and explanation provision regarding treatment.