Self-Service Blood Pressure Measurement in Outpatient Obstetrics Clinics Could Reduce the Waiting Time of Pregnant Women: Cross-sectional Survey (Preprint)

BACKGROUND In the conventional method, the blood pressure values of pregnant women were measured by nurses in the obstetrics outpatient clinics, and then were entered into the computer system. The pregnant women should wait for long time to complete this process. We hypothesized that the self-service blood pressure measurement by pregnant women could be a better option rather than measuring the blood pressure by nurses. OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of self-service blood pressure measurement on pregnant women in the obstetrics outpatient clinics on the waiting time, patient satisfaction, and outpatient volume by comparing with the conventional blood pressure measurement method. METHODS The waiting time and satisfaction degree of pregnant women, as well as the outpatient volume in the Obstetrics Outpatient Clinic were compared on the use of self-service blood pressure measurement system with the conventional method. A total of 519 pregnant women in the obstetrics outpatient clinics participated in the satisfaction survey. The sample means were compared with t-test. RESULTS After using the self-service blood pressure measurement system, the waiting time of pregnant women for blood pressure measurement was significantly reduced from (18.57±9.68) min to (2.39±1.96) min (P<0.001). In addition, the satisfaction degree of pregnant women was significantly increased (P<0.001), and the monthly outpatient volume was significantly increased (P=0.02,P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The self-service blood pressure measurement has significantly reduced the waiting time, increased the patient satisfaction and the outpatient volume. Therefore, this method is worth to be popularized in clinical practices.