• Brian E Etier, Scott P Orr, Jonathan Antonetti, Scott B Thomas, and Steven M Theiss.
• University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1313 13th St South, Birmingham, AL 35205, USA. Electronic address: brianetier@gmail.com.
• Spine J. 2016 Nov 1; 16 (11): 1285-1289.

Background ContextPatient satisfaction is and will continue to become an important metric in the American health care system. To our knowledge, there is no current literature exploring the factors that impact patient satisfaction in outpatient orthopedic spine surgery clinic.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine which factors impact patient satisfaction in an outpatient orthopedic spine clinic.Study DesignThis is a case series, level of evidence IV.Patient SampleWe reviewed the Press Ganey Associates database to identify patients seen in an orthopedic spine surgery clinic from 2013 to 2015.Outcome MeasuresOutcome measures were self-reported, which included visual analog pain scores and Press Ganey satisfaction scores.MethodsRetrospective computerized Press Ganey survey review was performed to identify patient demographics and patient visit characteristics. Bivariate analysis was used by splitting the patient response into the following: 0-3 (not satisfied), 4-7 (somewhat satisfied), and 8-11 (satisfied). Kruskal-Wallis test and Fisher exact test were used to evaluate the significance of patient and visit characteristics. Any variable that had a p-value less than .20 was subjected to the Poisson regression model.ResultsOverall, 353 patients were seen in an orthopedic spine surgery clinic and completed the Press Ganey survey. Three hundred and thirty-two patients were satisfied with their visit. Patients who were satisfied had a mean pain score of 4.02; patients who were somewhat satisfied or not satisfied had a pain score of 7 and 6, respectively (p=.009). Of 21 patients who felt the provider did not spend enough time with him or her, five (24%) patients were not satisfied with their visit. Poisson regression model confirmed significance of pain score and "provider time spent with you." Most impactful was "provider spent enough time with you" where a "yes, definitely" answer predicted a nearly 60% increase in Press Ganey overall satisfaction score.ConclusionsTwo patient variables that have a statistical significance on Press Ganey patient satisfaction scores were pain score and "provider spent enough time with you."Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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