Factors Associated with Orthopedic Patient Satisfaction - A Statistical and Decision Tree Analysis

High-quality orthopedic services are demanding in the United States. Patient satisfaction is an indicator of care quality as perceived by patients. By analyzing orthopedic patient satisfaction surveys, it is possible for providers to understand factors associated with orthopedic patient satisfaction and get insights about how to improve the patient experience with care services. This work sought to identify patient and provider factors associated with orthopedic patient satisfaction by means of a retrospective analysis of an orthopedic patient satisfaction survey. The survey was originally collected from 10,136 patients. With multivariate analysis, we determined that being a new patient, age between 19 and 44, age between 45 and 64, survey returned on Sunday, and having secondary diagnoses were strongly associated with the need to improve satisfaction. By analyzing the relationship between the answers to survey questions and the overall satisfaction rating with decision trees and multivariate analysis, we determined that providers’ interaction and respect for patients were important factors in satisfaction.