Back to Annual Meeting Posters

OBJECTIVES:
An efficiently run Vascular Lab (VL) offering accurate results with courteous and timely services is the goal of all labs. Factors important for physician satisfaction with VL services are not known. This study of frequent users assessed physician satisfaction with various aspects of the VL.
METHODS:
An anonymous survey was sent to 150 physicians who were the most frequent users of the vascular lab. Physicians were asked to answer questions on a 5 point Likert scale regarding their satisfaction with the staff and delivery of services in the lab. Subgroup analysis comparing different physician groups was then performed using Fisher’s exact or Chi Squared analysis.
RESULTS:
46(31%) physicians responded with 9(20%) of the responders identifying themselves as emergency room physicians (Group A, all other physicians are Group B). When asked about their opinion of the timeliness of critical results (4.8 vs. 4.7), or accuracy of the tests (4.7 vs. 4.8), there was no significant difference between Group A and Group B. Nor was there a difference in the perception of the courteousness (4.0 vs. 3.8) or professionalism (3.9 vs. 3.9) of the lab staff. The differences arose in Group A's perception of overall patient satisfaction with the lab (3 vs. 4.5, p<0.001). In addition, Group A physicians found it more difficult to schedule studies during both normal business hours (2.6 vs. 4.3; p<.0009) and off hours (1.4 vs. 2.9; p<0.0016). Consequently, the overall satisfaction score with the vascular lab of Group A was significantly lower (5.4 vs. 7.9 on a 10 point scale; p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
All physicians were highly satisfied with the accuracy of tests, timeliness of critical results reporting, and professionalism and friendliness of the staff. However, the overall satisfaction score of ER physicians was low. ER physicians were demanding easier scheduling of studies both during and outside of business hours as well as 24/7 service. With value based care and demand for 24/7 service, there will be incongruity with cost control. It may be time for the professional societies to jointly address the off-hours testing demands so all VL can find common grounds.