Improving patient experience in a multi-disciplinary clinic: clinical efficiency and patient satisfaction of 400 patients attending the Manchester Hypodontia Clinic.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the efficiency of the Manchester Hypodontia Clinic (MHC) in improving patient experience and satisfaction.

SETTING

In January 2010, the University Dental Hospital of Manchester applied a more modern approach to the design of a treatment planning clinic for patients with hypodontia. This brought together all the necessary dental specialties in one multidisciplinary clinic.

DESIGN

A questionnaire study of patients attending the MHC between January 2010 and March 2012 was used to monitor each patient's journey through the clinic.

SUBJECTS: 400 patients attended the MHC between January 2010 and March 2012.

METHOD: Patient satisfaction was assessed before and after attending the clinic via questionnaires in an attempt to understand more about patient expectations and satisfaction with the structure and management of the clinic.

RESULTS

Ninety-nine percent of patients received a clear explanation of why they had been invited to attend the clinic and 98% felt that they had been directly involved in their treatment planning and were fully informed of the decisions made regarding their future treatment. Almost all patients (99%) felt that attending the MHC had been worthwhile. Nearly a third of patients rated their experience as good and over two-thirds of patients (69%) rated their experience as excellent.

CONCLUSIONS

The results prove that by designing the service around the patients' needs it is possible to run an efficient clinic and achieve high levels of patient satisfaction.