Patient satisfaction with outpatient physical therapy in Saudi Arabia

• Main Authors: Ghadah Algudairi, Einas S. Al-Eisa, Ahmad H. Alghadir, Zaheen Ahmed Iqbal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018-11-01
• Series: BMC Health Services Research
• Subjects: Patient satisfaction; Physical therapy; Saudi Arabia
• Online Access: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-018-3646-0

Abstract Background Patient satisfaction (PS) is a key measure of the quality and outcome of healthcare systems which reflects patients’ experiences. The purpose of this study was to assess overall PS with outpatient physical therapy (PT) care in Saudi Arabia and identify associated characteristics and components. Methods Four hundred patients who received PT treatment during 2017 were invited to participate in this study. The MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction with Physical Therapy Care (MRPS) was used to assess PS. Results The average age of 358 (90%) respondents was 38.1 (SD 12.7) years, and a majority (77%) of them were female. At least 76% respondents reported feeling better after PT treatment, while the mean global satisfaction score of all respondents as per the MRPS was 3.56, indicating high satisfaction. Conclusion PT is still at an early stage of development in Saudi Arabia and is an integral part of the healthcare sector. PS is the key to identify areas for improvement and provide high quality healthcare to the public.