Abstract
In order to improve patients’ level of satisfaction, it is important to reduce their burden of waiting for examination. Therefore we have performed each examination procedure more efficiently, and maintained this efficiency at a high rate. This study examined the relationship between changes in the rate of gastric radiography use and patients’ burden of waiting.
The maintenance of a high rate of gastric radiography use from early in the morning was shown to contribute to a reduced burden of waiting. On the other hand, as the priority was given to increasing such a rate, services were centralized in gastric radiography, consequently complicating the line of flow toward other examinations; the possibility of this inversely leading to a reduced patient satisfaction level was undeniable.
As future perspectives, it may be necessary to observe patients’ burden of waiting for examination to the extent possible, and continuously analyze it as a basis for multifaceted approaches to improvement. Further studies may also be necessary to examine methods for patients to effectively use the waiting time.
