Historical December 1980 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
A survey of 32 patients at People’s Clinic shows that most patients are pleased with the care they are receiving.
I conducted the study for three days and three evenings in October.
Patients were asked several questions about the quality of care they received: “How friendly was the Clinic staff?” “How interested was the doctor in your problem?” “Was the doctor a good explainer?” and “How satisfied were you with your visit today?” The majority of patients responded positively on all questions. 27 out of 31 rated the staff as “very friendly;” 18 out of 29 felt the doctor was “very interested” in their problem (the remainder check “average”); 26 out of 31 said the doctor was a “good explainer;” and 23 out of 32 stated they were “very satisfied” with their visit.
Patients at some clinics have to wait over an hour to see a doctor.
However, 28 out of the 32 patients at People’s waited less than 20 minutes.
Most patients with appointments waited 10 minutes or less. Further, 27 out of 29 patients said they did not feel rushed when they were with the doctor. There were several flaws in the execution of this study.
Patients may have identified me with the Clinic and responded more favorably than they felt.
I tried to discourage this by identifying myself as someone “doing a survey of Clinic patients;” I didn’t mention that I am a Board member and volunteer. I also tried to react neutrally to their responses.
Another problem is that only 32 out of 43 patients agreed to be surveyed. Part of the reason that patients were so satisfied with the Clinic may have been because the Clinic is not very busy during the day.
When patients are scheduled a half hour apart, they will typically have a short wait and plenty of time with the doctor.
However, patients stressed they were provided with “friendly” and “interested” care.
This can be credited to the staff’s concern about each patient as an individual.
One amazed mother observed, “This clinic is better than a private doctor!
This doctor (Dr. Vigneri) seemed much more interested in my kids than their pediatrician had been.”
Originally published in The Paper, December 1980.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1980_12.pdf, printed page(s) 6; PDF page(s) 6.
