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Time and Attention Are Therapeutic

When you go to a clinic, what's more important to you? Would you rather see the nurse, doctor, or therapist on time, or have enough time together for your care?

Health care providers find themselves working in a competitive market. Patients are customers, and their satisfaction is important. Physical therapists are concerned about this. Therapists know that a patient who is happy with the treatment is more likely to follow the treatment plan.

Research is being done to find out what patients need and want. Several different groups of physical therapists are testing patient surveys about this. One group asked 2,000 patients what was important to them. They used the information to develop a survey for patients in an outpatient physical therapy clinic.

The survey helped point out what factors are important in patient care. Patients were most satisfied when the therapist spent enough time with them and listened to them. Receiving a clear explanation of treatment is also important. They also found that the survey could be used by other outpatient clinics to measure patient satisfaction.

The medical world is seeing that quality of life is an important part of treatment. Quality of life includes getting the care patients want and need. When this need is met, patients are more satisfied, and they achieve better treatment results.

References: Paul F. Beattie, PT, PhD, OCS, et al. Patient Satisfaction With Outpatient Physical Therapy: Instrument Validation. In Physical Therapy. June 2002. Vol. 82. No. 6. Pp. 557-565.

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