Health Quality Council of Alberta releases patient satisfaction results

Today, the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) released its 2010 Satisfaction and Experience with Health Care Services survey.

In the majority of areas surveyed in 2010, the results have remained stable comparable to 2008 results, and some key areas related to access and satisfaction have shown some improvement.

The information in HQCA's research helps Alberta Health Services (AHS) identify priority areas and the issues most important to patients. Additionally, it provides an independent measure of how the health system is doing and pinpoints areas for improvement. The 2010 HQCA survey is the first measure of patient satisfaction and experience taken province-wide since AHS was formed in the spring of 2008.

"The HQCA survey is an important way for us to listen to what our patients are saying and more importantly to know how we can best act on their concerns," said Dr. Chris Eagle, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer, Alberta Health Services.

"The results are encouraging. We have come through a difficult and necessary transition with the amalgamation of the former health regions, but patients are telling us the quality of care has been maintained and in some cases improved," Dr. Eagle said.

"It's important to highlight overall satisfaction rates: 62 per cent of Albertans who received health care services rated their satisfaction of 4 or 5 out of 5. This is a strong testament to the tremendous dedication of our frontline staff and physicians, and it demonstrates that despite sometimes challenging circumstances, they provide outstanding care to our patients every day."

Some highlights of the HQCA survey include:

• Overall access: 48 per cent of Albertans rated access to health care services as easy. This is relatively unchanged from 46 per cent in 2008 and significantly higher than 42 per cent in 2003.
• Overall satisfaction: 62 per cent of Albertans were satisfied with the health care services they received in 2010. This is relatively unchanged from 60 per cent in 2008, but significantly higher than 58 per cent in 2006 and 52 per cent in 2004.
• Access to Emergency: 54 per cent of respondents who visited an Emergency Department rated access as easy in 2010. This is relatively unchanged from 51 per cent in 2008, and significantly higher than 48 per cent in 2006 and 46 per cent in 2003.
• Access to specialists: 62 per cent of those that obtained specialist services rated access as easy, similar to 59 per cent in 2008 and significantly higher than 47 per cent in 2004 and 42 per cent in 2003.
• Patient safety: Nine per cent of respondents reported they or an immediate family member experienced unexpected harm. This is down from 10 per cent in 2008 and significantly lower than 13 per cent in 2006.
• Patient concerns: 61 per cent of those that had a complaint with health care services received were dissatisfied with how the complaint was handled; this is relatively unchanged from 61 per cent in 2008 and 57 per cent in 2006.

The HQCA technical report and summary of findings are available at http://www.hqca.ca/.

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