Patients Preferences regarding Outpatient Appointments in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background One of the major causes of long waiting time in outpatient clinics that affect patient satisfaction is the lack of a well-designed appointment system. The purpose of this study was to determine the appointment system patients prefer for their outpatient appointments and the reasons for the system currently in use in Jos University Teaching Hospital. Methodology A semi- structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the scheduling officers and,202 outpatient clients selected by multi stage sampling technique. Data was analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results Over seventy percent (70.3%) of respondents would prefer time specific (scattered) appointment while only 14.8% would prefer the single block appointment system currently in use in the hospital. The main reasons for using the single block appointment system are that it’s easy and the other appointment systems will make the scheduling task difficult. Conclusion Only 14.8% of Jos University Teaching Hospital’s outpatient clients prefer the single block appointment system used by the hospital to schedule outpatient appointments. Efforts should be made to use the time specific appointment system preferred by over 70% of the clients.