الملخص الإنجليزي
Abstract:
Patient and staff experience is significantly crucial to assess the accessibility to healthcare in outpatient clinics in any health facility. However, the correlation between the two in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in Bahrain has not been measured by a proper tool. This study assesses the level of accessibility to healthcare in SMC according to patient and staff experience. The study adopts a mixed method. First, 316 patients’ opinions are surveyed using an adopted web-based version of the Picker Adult Outpatient Tool. Second, a semi-structured interview is used with 10 staff members from outpatient clinics to probe their experience, in addition to one interview with an administrator. The results show that healthcare accessibility has a significant impact (eight Picker Principles) on staff and patient experiences at outpatient clinics in SMC. The most important concern to both the patients and staff is fast access to healthcare, particularly the appointment system and waiting time. A total of 42.1% of patients stressed the need for further emotional support and respect. At the same level, the staff believe that more acknowledgement of their efforts would be motivating. Another shared concern is improving the waiting areas in both the clinics and the pharmacy. However, when it comes to patients’ family involvement in decision-making, the patients want more of it while the staff recommend reducing it. The patients request clearer explanation from doctors to enhance self-care, and also continuity of care and smooth transition of medical cares. The research recommends introducing innovative applications to enhance patient autonomy and overcome the shortage of staff and provide tailored training courses that address the issues.
Keywords: Accessibility, patient experience, outpatient clinics, administrative autonomy, patient autonomy, Picker Adult Outpatient Tool, mixed methods.
