Ensuring Patient Satisfaction in the Emergency Department

Abstract

The emergency department (ED) is often a patient’s first encounter with a hospital system during a time of acute and unexpected illness or injury, making emergency department patient satisfaction scores all the more important for that institution. Patient satisfaction is defined as meeting patient expectations in various elements of care and experience. Many survey systems exist to help hospitals gauge how emergency departments can improve upon their patient’s overall experience from physician care to the availability of testing resources and even the cleanliness of the department. We will discuss the inherent factors of life in a busy emergency department, such as noise, overcrowding, and staff shortages that play roles as barriers to patient satisfaction. Through the identification of these barriers, we can create solutions for ourselves as physicians as well as for our hospital systems to improve the overall patient experience.