Study: Contacting Patients After ED Visit Increases Satisfaction

Contacting patients after their emergency department visit can increase patient satisfaction, according to a study in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Researchers examined the effect of post-ED visit contact on patient satisfaction at two community EDs from May 1, 2010, to June 30, 2010. In one month, 42 physicians emailed or called their patients within 72 hours of the ED visit. In the second month, physicians did not contact patients.


More than 1,000 patients completed a satisfaction survey after their ED visit. The authors reported patient satisfaction as a percentage of patients who responded very good or excellent on a five-point Likert scale for three questions about their emergency physicians' skills, care and communication.

Patients who were not contacted had an average satisfaction score of 79.4 percent, while patients who were contacted after their ED visit had an average satisfaction score of 87.7 percent. Satisfaction scores were similar for email and telephone contact, at 89.3 percent and 85.2 percent, respectively.

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