Background: Patient choice is a major theme in current healthcare delivery. Little is known about patients' wishes regarding the timing of medical outpatient clinics. Methods: A questionnaire survey of 300 sequential patients attending cardiac and respiratory clinics to determine patients preferences for out of hours and weekend outpatient clinics. (Out of hours defined as a clinic after 5 pm on Mon - Fri) Results: Two hundred and 64 patients completed the survey of which 165 (62.5%) wanted either an out of hours clinics or a weekend clinic. Sixty four (38.8%) specifically stated that this was because of work commitments but for many others, the reasons given were easy to justify. Conclusion: Current provision for outpatient consultation may not be convenient for many patients with heart and lung disease. A fuller evaluation of the cost and benefits of more flexible clinic hours is now needed. © 2005 Feeney et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Feeney, C. L., Roberts, N. J., & Partridge, M. R. (2005). Do medical outpatients want “out of hours” clinics? BMC Health Services Research, 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-5-47
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