A national study in Malaysia examined average waiting times at public hospitals through surveys of 13,000 patients and 3,000 healthcare employees. The average waiting time ranged from 18-85 minutes depending on the clinic type. The study found the longest wait times at Kuala Lumpur Hospital. Employees perceived that inefficient processes, lack of cooperation and commitment, heavy workloads, and inadequate facilities contributed to long wait times. The study highlights the need to address wait times through improved processes and facilities to reduce patient boredom and dissatisfaction.
1. The forgotten premise of healthcare
delivery-waiting time
• ABSTRACT:
• This is a national study to determine the
average waiting time in Malaysian public
hospitals and to gauge the level of patient
satisfaction with the waiting time.
• It also aims to identify the factors perceived
by health care providers which contribute to
the waiting time problem.
2. DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
• Self administered questionairres which were
administered in 21 public hospitals.A total of
13000responses were analysed for the patient
survey and 3000 were analysed for employee
survey.
3. PATIENT SURVEY ANALYSIS
• Average waiting time to get treatment from
the appointment time for different type of
clinics ranges from 18minutes(Emergency
dep) to 85 minutes(medical department)
• When analysed hospital wise,the average
waiting time was longest at kuala lumpur
hospital(75min) and shortest at district
hospital without specialists(30min).
4. • Of the respondents in the kualalumpur
hospital,which had the longest waiting
time,only 21% indicated that the waiting time
experience was unreasonable.
• Possible causes:patients at public hospitals
have low expectations as they are low income
earners who are aware that they are paying
nominal amounts for the serviceor not paying
anything.
5. • Provision of reading material-90.8%
• Provision of television-90.8%
• Provision of newspapers-87.3%
• Provision of appealing waiting environment-
80.5%
6. ANALYSIS ON EMPLOYEE SURVEY
• The findings indicate that the employees
perceive inefficient work process (mean-
3.89)followed by lack of cooperation among
staff (mean -3.35) for long waiting times.
• Lack of commitment among employees was
also perceived to be a contributing factor.
7. • Heavy workload:
• Lack of staff contributes to lengthy waiting
followed by patients not adhering to
appointment time.
• Supervision problem:
• Doctors commencing the clinic late(mean
value-3.86)
• Slow response from the management(3.47)
8. • Lack of supervision(mean-3.19)
• However administration matters such as staff
having breaks at the same time were not seen
as a major factor.
• Inadequate facilities:
• Lack of consultation rooms was perceived to
contribute to waiting time problem(mean-
3.81)
9. • SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
• Public health care in malaysia is in a state of
excess demand,where demand outstrips
supply,due to large fee differences between
the public and the private sector.
• There is a need to reduce the boredom fa ced
by patients while waiting and to address the
problem in a scientific manner.
10. WAITING FOR SERVICES:THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF RECOVERY
STRATEGIES
• Preprocess waits can be classified into 3 types:
• Preschedule(customer arrives early for the
appointment)
• Post schedule(customer waits after the
appointment time to receive the service)
• Queue waits(where service is on a first come
first serve basis)
11. • Hypothesis 1
• When a preprocess post schedule wait
occurs ,offering an apology only is least
effective recovery strategy with respect to
improving customer intention towards the
service provider
• Assistance is a more effective recovery
strategy than compensation
12. • Hypothesis3:
• Assistance and compensation is the most
effective recovery strategy.
• METHODOLOGY
• Experimental design,interviews with the
service managers and questionaires were
administered to the hotyel guests
13. • SERVICE EXPECTATION:
• Internal standards against which the
customers judge the quality of services.
• The two expectations for a hotel scenario
were operationalized as a destination hotel
for a 4 day stay(high expectations) and a
motel chain on the way to a vacation(low
expectaion)
14. • For the restaurant scenario,the levels were
operationalised as a family celebration at a
restaurant known for excellent food(high
expectation)
• Casual family meal in a restaurant known for
good food in a relaxed setting(low)
15. • Intention is based on the likelihood of
switching service provider ,complaint to the
service provider,and negative word of mouth
communication.
16. • Results:
• The responses to the restaurant scenario with
regard to recovery strategies was more negative
than that of the hotel scenario.
• The shorter wait scenarios led to more negative
intentions which indicate that the wait time
relative to the total time of customer service
needs to be considered while evaluating the
relationship between waiting and service
evaluation
17. • The main effect of expectation was significant
for the restaurant scenario but not for the
hotel scenario
• The relative effectiveness of assistance versus
compensation was equivalent
• Offering both assistance and compensation
was most effective,but it still left respondents
with negative intentions.