2011 Volume 7 Issue 4 Pages 162-165
Gathering information in the forms of complaints from patients, reports from staff, and surveys conducted by the hospital is an essential element in providing safe, high-quality medical care. We have analyzed the contents of letters placed to the opinion box in 1 year from January 1, 2010, and examined them from the viewpoint of the quality of medical care. In total, 121 letters with 127 opinions were posted. Overall, 74.4% of the letters were anonymous. The largest percentage of opinions (44.9%; 57 of 127 opinions) were about the behaviors and attitudes of the hospital staff towards patients, followed by requests to the hospital (15%; 19 opinions) , opinions about hospital facilities (12.6%; 16 opinions) , and complaints about waiting time and other issues (9.4%; 12 opinions) . Overall, 83.5% of all comments were complaints. From the viewpoint of the quality of medical care, 27.6% of the comments were about "structure," 66.9% were about "process," and 3.1% were about "results." A large part of the structural problems can be improved with the launch of the new hospital. The remaining structural problems and process problems might be addressed by conducting cross-sectional restructuring and by upgrading the organization of the existing hospital, thus improving both the patients' satisfaction rate and the quality of medical care. Letters in the opinion box should be regularly reviewed (Plan-Do-Check-Action Cycle) in the future to maintain and improve the quality of medical care.
