Patients’ (Clients) Satisfaction with Medical Laboratory Services Contributes to Health and Quality Improvement

Abstract

Patients’ (clients/customer) services and satisfaction in Medical Laboratory Services and general healthcare is one of the twelve (12) quality essentials of Total Quality Management System (TQMS) emphasized by quality standards as seen in ISO 17025, ISO 15189 and ISO 9001. The patients otherwise referred to as customers or clients to Medical Laboratory and healthcare in general, is the heart-beat and kings to the healthcare system. This chapter looks into the quality aspect of medical laboratory services from the patients’ angle towards thorough satisfaction or dissatisfaction index and otherwise creates room for improvement in the services and healthcare in general. The chapter therefore, identified medical laboratory clients to include patients and patients’ relations, physicians and other healthcare workers, public health and government, communities and interested parties, and medical laboratory profession. There is a need to administer services satisfaction survey developed by Director of Medical Laboratory Services or human resources/quality officers in line with the ISO 15189, ISO 17075 and ISO 9001 to customers/clients from time to time so the outcome can be used to correct services errors and cause quality improvement. It is believed that patients’ satisfaction causes improvement in healthcare, quick recovery of patients and willingness of the patient to return to the healthcare facility in future. Patients’ and customers’ in medical laboratory feedback contributes to quality management and improvement to Medical Laboratory services and healthcare as an ingredient of TQMS.