PATIENTS’ OPINION ON HEALTH CARE QUALITY IN MUNICIPAL (COMMUNITY) HOSPITALS IN BULGARIA

Abstract

One of the main aims of Bulgarian health care reform is to provide timely, equal and open access to healthcare resources, which would allow for optimal healthcare, improvement of health status and increased quality of life. Bulgarian health system tendencies, particularly during the last decade are as follows: population size is diminishing, working age population is diminishing, physicians’ and medical specialists’ numbers are diminishing, while the number of health establishments, in particular, hospitals and hospital beds is rising, patients’ numbers are increasing, financial resources dedicated to health are increasing and last but not least the number of sick days per year are also increasing. The aim of the present research is to study patients’ opinion on municipal (community) hospitals with regards to medical services and to indicate possible approaches for optimizing medical services. The opinion of 195 patients in 10 municipal hospitals has been studied. The qquestionnaire consists of 20 separate questions, quantitative and qualitative indicators are related to various characteristics. Quantitative indicator is age, while qualitative indicators are: gender; education; reasons for hospitalisation; opinion on provision of information on the disease, diagnostics, treatment, prognosis and recommendations for follow up treatment; assessment of service quality in the hospital; opinion on patients’ needs; assessment of hospital organisation and patient satisfactions. Results and conclusions: 1. Quality medical care, according to respondents, is the top priority for patient’s satisfaction, followed by individual treatment for every patient. Quality of hospital building and rooms has considerably less weight. 2. Provision of detailed information on the disease, diagnostics, treatment, prognosis and recommendations for follow up treatment contributes significantly to increased patients’ satisfactions. 3. In general, patients approve highly of the medical services quality, irrespective of several critical downfalls on work organisation and hospital accommodation. Yet, patients would gladly recommend the particular hospital to their families and friends. 4. Patients assess highly qualification of medical staff, technical equipment, service quality while they comment negatively underpayment of medical staff in relation to their workload and efforts.