Copyright
©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
What factors influence patient experience in orthopedic oncology office visits?
Alan T Blank, Sara Shaw, Connor J Wakefield, Yue Zhang, Wei J Liu, Kevin B Jones, R Lor Randall
Alan T Blank, Connor J Wakefield, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Division of Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 61011, United States
Sara Shaw, Kevin B Jones, Department of Orthopedics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84122, United States
Yue Zhang, Department of Family & Preventive Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, United States
Wei J Liu, Scientific Computing and Image Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, United States
R Lor Randall, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA 95817, United States
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this research study; Blank AT contributed to critical revision of manuscript, performing procedures, conception and design, project supervision; Shaw S contributed to data collection, writing manuscript; Wakefield C contributed to analysis and interpretation of data, writing the manuscript; Zhang Y and Liu WJ contributed to analysis and interpretation of data; Jones KB and Randall RL contributed to critical revision of the manuscript, conception and design, project supervision.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the University of Utah Medical Center Institutional Review Board and Research Integrity and Compliance office.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to for this retrospective study since the analysis used anonymous clinical data that is obtained through routine clinical care.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflicts-of-interest related to this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Alan T Blank, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Attending Doctor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Division of Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, 1611 W Harrison St, Suite 300, Chicago, IL 61011, United States. alan.blank@rushortho.com
Received: August 21, 2019
Peer-review started: August 1, 2019
First decision: December 25, 2019
Revised: February 6, 2020
Accepted: February 8, 2020
Article in press: February 8, 2020
Published online: March 24, 2020
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Patient satisfaction and reported outcomes play an important role in determining efficacy of clinical care. Little is known about the patient experience in an orthopedic oncology outpatient clinic.
Research motivation
This study aims to evaluate the potential factors that impact the patient experience within an outpatient orthopedic oncology clinic. Identification of these factors will allow us and others to improve the patient experience.
Research objectives
The primary objective of this study was to identify potentially modifiable factors that impact the patient reported experience. With this knowledge one can implement strategies to improve the outpatient experience.
Research methods
This study was a retrospective review of prospectively collected data obtained through routine medical care at a single orthopedic oncology outpatient clinic.
Research results
This study identified that most patients within the practice were from out of state. Likelihood to recommend the attending physician was associated with MD friendliness/courtesy, MD confidence, MD instructions follow-up care, and sensitivity to needs. Although the clinic operation performed well in the categories of courtesy of staff and cleanliness there is room for improvement in ease of getting on the phone, information about delays, and wait time.
Research conclusions
Orthopedic specialties can greatly benefit with the knowledge obtained from this study by understanding which factors are associated the patient experience in an outpatient clinic. Future studies can be aimed at improving areas of care identified from this study.
Research perspectives
The patient experience and reported satisfaction is becoming an important measure of clinical efficacy through various surgical and medical specialties. Little is known on the patient experience within an orthopedic oncology outpatient clinic. Future research is required to investigate strategies at improving areas within the outpatient clinic identified from this study.
