The Observation of Patient Satisfaction with Healthcare Services in Chinese Public Hospitals Through Patients Experiences in Jiangsu
Authors: Majid Ali  , Nawab Ali  , Muhammad Aditya Kurnia  , Jiaying Chen  
Published: December 2023

Background: The objective of this study was to assess patients' overall satisfaction with and experiences with various aspects of healthcare in Chinese public hospitals. In addition, it aimed to find out the extent to which patients' experiences in public hospitals in urban and rural locations might be accountable for general satisfaction. Methods: The data were derived from questionnaires designed to serve the patient's satisfaction within hospitals regarding several aspects in ten primary and tertiary level public/private hospitals across Jiangsu (China). In 2019, a survey encompassing 1185 Patients, physicians, and paramedical staff members was conducted in ten public hospitals located in Jiangsu, China. Donabedian's model classified patient experience questions into six categories under the heading’s "structure" and "process," with overall satisfaction serving as the "outcome" category. To compare patient experiences and overall satisfaction in urban and rural settings, chi-square tests were employed. Results: For assessing the government healthcare system's staff, health insurance plans, and healthcare delivery units. The health status of the target populations was compared with that of the responders by looking at the demographic distribution, life expectancy, service delivery with and without favoritism, and health behaviors. Surveys from decision-makers, implementers, and the general public who experience policy revealed that a much higher proportion of respondents reported improvements and favorable changes in the majority of areas. The survey's findings indicate that patients are often more satisfied with urban hospitals as compared to rural hospitals. In Jiangsu, medical personnel are given nearly identical resources and facilities, albeit in transformed forms according to their jurisdiction. The process is how the policies are initiated, negotiated, formulated, communicated, implemented, and evaluated. Policy development is dominated by political factors impacting all aspects of policy, i.e., context, process, and content. Conclusions: Jiangsu has updated and implemented its health policy according to the demand of the day, which has noted the experiences of its workers, compassionate attitudes, and service delivery despite the workload. The province has put in place several insurance schemes, but there is an issue of dissatisfaction in rural health centers as compared to urban hospital patients that can be resolved by bringing awareness in the rural society; Jiangsu is also home to the best version of the Electronic Medical Record system. Furthermore, the satisfaction of urban hospital patients is comparatively high due to the excellent behavior of healthcare workers, the proper referral system, insurance availability, the duration of healthcare services, the out-of-pocket treatment cost, the resources availability at PHC centers, and the development of the healthcare system were also noted with noteworthy numbers.