Abstract
Background Continuity of personal care by the anesthesiologist is crucial for patient satisfaction. Over and above the consultation and service in the preoperative area, intraoperative care, and post-anesthesia care unit, anesthesia services frequently incorporate a pre-anesthesia evaluation clinic and a preoperative visit in the inpatient ward for their services, which helps with rapport building. However, routine post-anesthesia visits in the inpatient ward by the anesthesiologist are infrequent, causing a break in the continuity of care. The effect of such a routine post-operative visit by anesthesiologists has been tested only rarely in the Indian population. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of a single postoperative visit by the same anesthesiologist (continuity of care) on patient satisfaction and compare it with a postoperative visit by another anesthesiologist and no postoperative visit. Methods After institutional ethical committee approval, 276 American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (ASA PS) I and II, consenting, elective surgical inpatients older than 16 years were enrolled in a tertiary care teaching hospital from January 2015- September 2016. Consecutive patients were allocated into three groups based on the postoperative visit (i.e., group A: by the same anesthesiologist; group B: another anesthesiologist; and group C: no visit). Data related to patients' satisfaction were collected in a pretested questionnaire. Chi-Square and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were applied to analyze the data and compare among the groups; a p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The mean age of the entire cohort was 38.1 years, comprising 39.9% men. Demographic, socioeconomic, and educational statuses were similar in all groups (p >0.05). The percentages of patient satisfaction were 61.47%, 51.52%, and 38.5% in groups A, B, and C, respectively (p=0.0001). Satisfaction with the fulfillment of "continuity of personal care" was the highest for group A (69.35%), which was significantly higher than group B (43.69%) and group C (35.65%). Group C had the lowest fulfillment of patient expectations and was significantly less satisfied than even group B (p=0.02). Conclusion Continuity of anesthesia care with the addition of routine postoperative visits had the highest positive impact on patient satisfaction. Even a single postoperative visit by the anesthesiologist significantly increased the patients' satisfaction.