Patient satisfaction with quality of care of a multidisciplinary thrombosis service - a cross sectional survey

Background: In October 2017 we opened a multidisciplinary Adult Outpatient Thrombosis Service (Thrombosis Service) in a regional health authority servicing over 300 000 people. The Thrombosis Service is a comprehensive thrombosis and anticoagulation management program with unique, interrelated clinics providing a broad spectrum of care for this patient group. Evaluation of patient satisfaction with this new model of patient care is an important quality measurement.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of patients who attended the Thrombosis Service between October 2017 and May 2019. We measured patient satisfaction with the seven-item Short Assessment of Patient Satisfaction (SAPS) which uses a 5 point scale (0-4) for responses. The continuous score range for SAPS is 0 to 28. Categorical responses for SAPS are defined as 0-10 very dissatisfied, 11-18 dissatisfied, 19-26 satisfied, and 27-28 very satisfied. We used linear regression analysis to examine the associations between patients' characteristics and their satisfaction with the Thrombosis Service.

Results: Of the 1058 surveys distributed, 563 were returned. The mean score for the SAPS was 22.1 (SD 4.1, range 8 to 28). For the categorical response, 85% were satisfied or very satisfied with the Thrombosis Service. The multivariate analysis showed patients with post-secondary education were more satisfied with the Thrombosis Service (β-coefficient 1.6153, p = 0.024), and patients taking warfarin were less likely to be satisfied with the Thrombosis Service (β-coefficient -1.5832, p = 0.0390).

Conclusions: The majority of survey participants (85%) who attended an appointment in one of the Thrombosis Service clinics were satisfied or very satisfied with the care they received. This information may benefit other centres who are interested in developing a program to manage thrombosis and anticoagulation.