Information Requirements of Citizens Using Hospital Information Services Provided by Prefectural Governments
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Abstract
[Objective]
Hospital information services in Japan were established in 2008 in accordance to the Health Service Law with the purpose of providing information to patients to enhance their hospital selection process. Prefectural governments are obligated to provide information to the public regarding hospital functions. However, according to our previous study, these services are not widely available. Seto and Kaihara (2009) found that 27.7% of the respondents, aged 30–50 years and living in metropolitan areas, were aware of the hospital information services, and 89.0% wanted to avail the services. The purpose of this study is to determine the type of information that citizens would like this service to provide.
[Method]
A total of 875 candidates, aged 30–50 years, living in the Tokyo metropolitan and 3 contiguous prefectures, was selected from Research Monitor registered by NTT Resonant and Mitsubishi Research Institute (Goo Research) for the study. The study subjects were well versed in identifying a hospital that met their needs. We excluded single households from the study. We provided the candidates a web-based questionnaire. The questionnaire inquired about the awareness of the hospital information services, willingness to use the service, desirable information resources for selecting hospitals, and information requirements. We performed correspondence analysis to determine frequency. Information requirement queries were based on the search criteria provided by the California Healthcare Foundation. The response rate was 60.2% and 527 candidates responded.
[Result]
Respondents aware of the hospital information service and willing to use it placed importance on the internet and word-of-mouth to search for hospitals and query about MD and RN staffing. Respondents who were not aware of the service but willing to use it placed importance on the internet, word-of-mouth, and books to seek information about wages of MDs, quality of a facility, quality of care, and turnover of MDs and RNs at the facility. Additionally, respondents who were not willing to use the service did not depend on the internet, word-of-mouth, or books to seek such information.
[Discussion]
Our survey results suggest that information requirements regarding hospital services depended significantly on the awareness of the service and willingness to use the service. However, we found that the service did not provide certain information sought by the respondents. The existing service included information on staffing but did not include information on employee satisfaction, including wages and turnover rates. Because employee satisfaction correlates with customer satisfaction, it is natural for respondents to require this information.
[Conclusion]
The hospital information services did not address all of the queries of the citizens willing to avail the services. We therefore recommend providing additional information through the hospital information services.
Hospital information services in Japan were established in 2008 in accordance to the Health Service Law with the purpose of providing information to patients to enhance their hospital selection process. Prefectural governments are obligated to provide information to the public regarding hospital functions. However, according to our previous study, these services are not widely available. Seto and Kaihara (2009) found that 27.7% of the respondents, aged 30–50 years and living in metropolitan areas, were aware of the hospital information services, and 89.0% wanted to avail the services. The purpose of this study is to determine the type of information that citizens would like this service to provide.
[Method]
A total of 875 candidates, aged 30–50 years, living in the Tokyo metropolitan and 3 contiguous prefectures, was selected from Research Monitor registered by NTT Resonant and Mitsubishi Research Institute (Goo Research) for the study. The study subjects were well versed in identifying a hospital that met their needs. We excluded single households from the study. We provided the candidates a web-based questionnaire. The questionnaire inquired about the awareness of the hospital information services, willingness to use the service, desirable information resources for selecting hospitals, and information requirements. We performed correspondence analysis to determine frequency. Information requirement queries were based on the search criteria provided by the California Healthcare Foundation. The response rate was 60.2% and 527 candidates responded.
[Result]
Respondents aware of the hospital information service and willing to use it placed importance on the internet and word-of-mouth to search for hospitals and query about MD and RN staffing. Respondents who were not aware of the service but willing to use it placed importance on the internet, word-of-mouth, and books to seek information about wages of MDs, quality of a facility, quality of care, and turnover of MDs and RNs at the facility. Additionally, respondents who were not willing to use the service did not depend on the internet, word-of-mouth, or books to seek such information.
[Discussion]
Our survey results suggest that information requirements regarding hospital services depended significantly on the awareness of the service and willingness to use the service. However, we found that the service did not provide certain information sought by the respondents. The existing service included information on staffing but did not include information on employee satisfaction, including wages and turnover rates. Because employee satisfaction correlates with customer satisfaction, it is natural for respondents to require this information.
[Conclusion]
The hospital information services did not address all of the queries of the citizens willing to avail the services. We therefore recommend providing additional information through the hospital information services.
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