Consumer opinions of emergency room medical care.

If hospital management is to adapt successfully to an increasingly competitive environment, and to retain a viable emergency department, it well be necessary to objectively and accurately assess the hospital's image in the community served. Knowledge of the consumers' views is an essential input into the formulation of strategic plans. This article reports on a study in which consumer opinions on 15 dimensions of emergency room health care were obtained from 723 respondents using a mail questionnaire. Findings reveal that consumers view the emergency room as being more expensive than other health care providers. Except for being available or convenient, little or no advantage is perceived for the emergency room over the personal physician. Even though the emergency room has specialized staff and equipment, consumers do not believe patients receive better or faster treatment in an emergency room than would be obtained in a physician's office. Unless changed, these perceptions will diminish the role of the emergency room in the delivery of health care services.

Satisfaction with hospital emergency department as a function of patient triage.

For most people, waiting is inherently dissatisfying and emergency department patients are no exception. Most patients and people accompanying the patient find the treatment waiting time in emergency medical care facilities to be a source of great dissatisfaction. The dissatisfaction is compounded in many cases by the anxiety of all associated with the patient and the discomfort or pain the patient feels. Consequently it was not surprising to find in this investigation that waiting time for treatment and treatment cost were major causes of consumer dissatisfaction. Satisfaction of emergency department patients decreased as the medical need became less urgent. This finding should be of considerable concern to hospital administrators. With the trend toward new forms of health care delivery systems such as "emergicenters" and the increase in the number of physicians per capita, the emergency department will no longer be the most attractive or the only alternative available to the patients who have a nonemergency medical need. For emergency departments to remain profitable, it will be more important than ever before to meet the needs and expectations of their current and potential users. This can be accomplished by a program designed to reduce cost and waiting time and improve communication, and by other programs to educate the user so that the user's expectations more closely conform with what is actually needed or can be economically provided.