Proportion of Outpatients that Received Communication Skills from Health Care Providers at General Practice Clinic of a Hospital in Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

Background and objectives: Good communication skills between health care providers and patients could improve the quality of treatment and reduce patients’ lawsuits. The purposes of this study were to determine the proportion of outpatients that received communication skills from health care providers and communication skills that associated with patients’ satisfaction.

Methods: This was a descriptive study. The study samples were 150 patients that came to general practice clinic, Srinagarind hospital, and were sampled by time-frame allocation sampling. The tool was a self-administrated questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 19 by percentage, Pearson’s chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, Odds ratio and 95% CI.

Results: The response rate was 97.33% (146/150). Two most proportion of communication skills that patients received were using of non-technical terms 97.04% (95% CI: 92.12, 99.05) and giving patients a chance to ask questions 95.56% (95% CI: 90.16, 98.18). The least proportion of communication skills that patient received was doctor’s introduction of himself 29.63% (95% CI: 22.24, 38.20). The communication skills that statistically significance associated with patients’ satisfaction were informing about the diagnosis (OR = 6.07, 95% CI: 1.64, 22.54) and doctor’s introduction of himself (OR = 4.67, 95% CI: 1.01, 21.51).

Conclusions: 97% of patients received using of non-technical terms and 30% of them received doctor’s introduction of himself. Besides, informing about the diagnosis and doctor’s introduction of himself associated with patients’ satisfaction.