Predicting Patients' Satisfaction With Doctors in Online Medical Communities

Online medical communities have revolutionized the way patients obtain medical-related information and services. Investigating what factors might influence patients’ satisfaction with doctors and predicting their satisfaction can help patients narrow down their choices and increase their loyalty towards online medical communities. Considering the imbalanced feature of dataset collected from Good Doctor, we integrated XGBoost and SMOTE algorithm to examine what factors and these factors can be used to predict patient satisfaction. SMOTE algorithm addresses the imbalanced issue by oversampling imbalanced classification datasets. And XGBoost algorithm is an ensemble of decision trees algorithm where new trees fix errors of existing trees. The experimental results demonstrate that SMOTE and XGBoost algorithm can achieve better performance. We further analyzed the role of features played in satisfaction prediction from two levels: individual feature level and feature combination level.

Patients’ satisfaction with outpatient pharmacy services and associated factors in Debre Tabor comprehensive specialized hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Introduction By measuring patients’ satisfaction, providers can gain insight into several elements of health care services, including the effectiveness of their care and the level of empathy they exhibit. The aim of this study was to assess patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services and associated factors in public hospitals located in Northwestern Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based quantitative cross-sectional study was used. The study was carried out in an outpatient pharmacy from January 1–June 30, 2021. Participants were selected by a systematic sampling technique. The IBM SPSS statistical package (version 23) was used to enter and analyze the collected data. The findings were presented using descriptive statistical methods. To find factors linked to satisfaction, binary logistic regression was used. Results The final analysis included a total of 401 samples. More than half of the participants (229, or 55.1%) were female. The overall mean score of satisfaction was 30.6 out of a maximum of 100 scores. By taking this mean score as a cut-off point, 204 (50.9%) of the study participants had satisfaction with the outpatient pharmacists’ service. Participants’ responses scored on the uncomfortable and inconvenient waiting areas [AOR = 0.31; 95%CI, (0.13, 0.49)] were found to be negatively associated with the level of patients’ satisfaction. Also, the unavailability of medications [AOR = 0.12; 95%CI, (0.02, 0.37)] was negatively associated with the respondent satisfaction. Uncomfortable and inconvenient private counseling areas [AOR = 1.37; 95%CI, (0.79, 4.42)] showed a negative association with their satisfaction. Conclusion Patients’ satisfaction levels with pharmacy service were found to be greater than 50%. The socio-demographic characteristics of patients have no association with their level of satisfaction, but their perception of uncomfortable private counseling areas and waiting areas was negatively associated with their satisfaction.

Patients’ Satisfaction and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Edentulous Patients Using Conventional Complete Dentures and Implant-Retained Overdentures in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study was to compare patients’ satisfaction and quality of life (QoL) when using implant overdentures vs. conventional dentures. The QoL of Saudi patients who were provided mandibular implant-supported overdentures was assessed using a structured questionnaire. Overall satisfaction; ability to speak, eat, and chew food; comfort; esthetics; stability; and satisfaction of general oral health were measured. A total of 48.3% vs. 6.9% were, overall, very satisfied with their implant overdentures and conventional dentures, respectively. A total of 37.9% of the patients were very satisfied regarding speaking with their implant overdentures vs. 17.2% with conventional dentures. Furthermore, 41.4% were very comfortable with their implant overdentures vs. 5.2% were very comfortable using conventional dentures. However, only 15.5% were very satisfied with the esthetics of the conventional dentures compared to 43.1% being satisfied with implant overdentures. Only 1.7% were very satisfied with the stability of conventional dentures vs. 44.8% being satisfied using implant overdentures. About 8.6% of the candidates were very satisfied regarding chewing food with conventional dentures vs. 36.2% being very satisfied using implant overdentures. Approximately 10.3% were very satisfied with their general oral health using conventional dentures compared to 29.3% being very satisfied using implant overdentures. Mandibular implant overdentures had a strong impact on patients’ quality of life over conventional complete dentures and should be considered the minimum standard of care provided to completely edentulous patients.

Empirical Investigation on the Characteristics and Perceived Value of Patients in Medical Treatment Seeking: In-Depth Research in Zhejiang Province of China

Background. Patient Perceived Value (PPV) provides a valuable perspective to explain why the government reforms on health system in terms of functional medical treatment performance improvement did not decrease the crowded waiting line or increased patient satisfaction in China. Methods. Questionnaires comprising seven constructs were sent to patients from seven highly recognized hospitals in Zhejiang Province of China. It was collected via face-by-face in a twelve-month period (2019), and 2586 valid data were collected for SPSS statistic accordingly. Results. Besides the significance of the functional medical treatment values (such as the treatment effectiveness, accurate price, standardization, and normalization), the emotional values (reasonable waiting time, convenient accessibility, communication with doctors/nurses) were significant in patients’ consciousness. Patient medical treatment seeking preferences were affected by patients’ background characteristics and perceived value, which consequently produced differentiated patients’ satisfaction. Patients’ characteristics, which related to the age, gender, illness conditions, educational, and income level, would have different demanding in medical treatment seeking. These young female patients in outpatient or in mild illness conditions with higher educational and income levels tend to be relatively high in timing and convenience demanding. Conclusion. This result would change the policy maker and hospitals to considerate the patients’ emotional value as well as functional value in providing medical treatment. Classified patients’ time arrangement tactics consistent with distinguished characteristics, equipped up with convenient accessibility and interconnected medical treatment environment design, can create valuable patients’ satisfaction in China.