Urgent care and parental satisfaction

A survey of more than 1,000 parents who brought their children to either an urgent-care clinic or a well-care clinic during an 18-month period provided some insights into the association between parents' knowing the care provider's name and how satisfied they were with the visit. The 3-page survey queried parents/guardians about the name of the physician who provided care, how difficult it was to park, whether a medical student was present during the visit, the visit length from arrival to departure, and whether they would "refer a friend to the practice" (a yes was considered indicative of parental satisfaction).

Of the entire sample, which comprised a diverse patient population, 92% of parents were satisfied with their visit. In the urgent-care clinic setting, knowing the physician's name increased the likelihood of parental satisfaction. In the well-care clinic setting, knowing the physician's name had no effect on parental satisfaction, however. For both settings, a longer visit time (median was 81 minutes) was significantly associated with dissatisfaction. In urgent care-but not well care-difficulty in parking was also significantly associated with parental dissatisfaction (Patel MR, et al. Clin Pediatr. 2010;49[6]:525-529).

Commentary