Date of Award

Spring 2015

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Advisor

Mary McKelvey, PhD, RN, CNS

First Committee Member

Mary McKelvey, PhD, RN, CNS

Second Committee Member

Kirk Hummer, DNP, MBA, CNP

Third Committee Member

Beverly Tate, BA, Sociology

Keywords

Patient satisfaction, Urgent Care, Telephone follow-up

Subject Categories

Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing | Nursing Administration | Other Nursing | Public Health and Community Nursing

Abstract

Telephone follow-up (TFU) is a very valuable innovation. It is a service that is found to be desirable by both patients and health care professionals. It has been utilized successfully in a variety of settings, however, evidence of its use or evaluation of its use in the urgent care setting has not been found. Through evaluation of patient satisfaction (PS) with use of the protocol, new cost and labor effective interventions were constructed and implemented with the goal of meeting patients’ needs.

This study utilized mixed method methodology and employed a descriptive design. Convenience sampling was utilized and a sample of seventy seven participants was obtained. The objectives were to evaluate PS with the TFU protocol in a Central Ohio urgent care and to assess if any patient characteristics and demographics were associated with high levels of PS. The study yielded a 43% response rate. The study found high PS levels amongst majority of the responders and a statistically significant association was found between high PS levels and ethnicity.

Based on the study findings, practice specific recommendations were formulated with the intent of further increasing PS levels and the meeting of patients’ needs. The presented information is vital for health care professionals as it highlights the importance and benefits of the evaluation of provided health care services. It will also encourage other health care professionals to conduct evaluation of PS with such services with the ultimate goal of meeting their patients’ needs.

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