Driving Factors of Recommending a Hand Surgery Clinic After Surgery

Jarry T Porsius; Marloes H P Ter Stege; Ruud W Selles; Harm P Slijper; Hand-Wrist Study Group

doi:10.1016/j.jhsa.2023.11.010

Driving Factors of Recommending a Hand Surgery Clinic After Surgery

J Hand Surg Am. 2024 Feb;49(2):114-123. doi: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2023.11.010. Epub 2023 Dec 13.

Authors

Jarry T Porsius¹, Marloes H P Ter Stege², Ruud W Selles³, Harm P Slijper⁴; Hand-Wrist Study Group

Collaborators

Hand-Wrist Study Group:
R A M Blomme, B J R Sluijter, D J J C van der Avoort, G J Halbesma, A Kroeze, J Smit, J Debeij, E T Walbeehm, G M van Couwelaar, G M Vermeulen, J P de Schipper, J F M Temming, J H van Uchelen, H L de Boer, K P de Haas, K Harmsen, O T Zöphel, R Feitz, J S Souer, R Koch, S E R Hovius, T M Moojen, X Smit, R Hagen, R van Huis, P Y Pennehouat, K Schoneveld, Y E van Kooij, R M Wouters, J Veltkamp, A Fink, L Esteban Lopez, W A de Ridder, H P Slijper, R W Selles, J T Porsius, J Tsehaie, R Poelstra, M C Jansen, M J W van der Oest, L Hoogendam, J S Teunissen, J E Koopman, J Dekker, M H P Ter Stege, J M Zuidam, C A Hundepool, B E P A van der Heijden, J W Colaris, W R Bijlsma

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Hand and Wrist Center, Xpert Clinics, the Netherlands.
² Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Hand and Wrist Center, Xpert Clinics, the Netherlands. Electronic address: m.terstege@erasmusmc.nl.
³ Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
⁴ Hand and Wrist Center, Xpert Clinics, the Netherlands.

PMID: 38099875
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhsa.2023.11.010

Abstract

Purpose: Since a patient's recommendation of a clinic to others is an important indicator of patient experience, more insight is needed into the underlying factors that motivate such recommendations. This retrospective cohort study assessed the relative contribution of the following: (1) patient-related characteristics, (2) treatment outcome, (3) satisfaction with treatment outcome, and (4) patients' experience with the process of care to patients' recommendation of a specific clinic after elective surgery.

Methods: Patients of specialized outpatient hand surgery clinics (N = 6,895) reported the likelihood of recommending the clinic to friends or family 3-5 months after surgery by filling in the Net Promoter Score. Potential predictors of the Net Promoter Score were preoperative patient characteristics, patient-reported treatment outcomes, satisfaction with treatment outcome, and experience with several health care delivery domains. Linear regression analyses were used to examine the contribution of the predictors.

Results: Mean age of the patients was 53 (SD, 14) years, 62.5% were women, and 62.5% were employed. Preoperative patient characteristics explained 1% of the variance in clinic recommendations. An additional 6% was explained by the treatment outcome, 21.6% by satisfaction with treatment outcome, and 33.8% by patients' experience with care delivery (total explained variance was 62.3%). The strongest independent predictors of clinic recommendations were positive experiences with the quality of the facilities and the communication skills of the physician.

Conclusions: Patient recommendations are more strongly driven by patients' experience with care delivery than by treatment outcome and patient characteristics.

Clinical relevance: In elective surgery, improving patient experiences is pivotal in boosting patient recommendation of the clinic.

Keywords: Elective surgery; Net Promoter Score; health services; patient experience; surgical outcome.

MeSH terms

Ambulatory Care Facilities*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Reported Outcome Measures
Patient Satisfaction*
Retrospective Studies
Treatment Outcome