Clients’ Satisfaction with the Services of the National Health Insurance Scheme at the Moddibo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, Adamawa State

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, patient satisfaction is one of the cardinal indices for evaluating the quality of healthcare service delivery and the effectiveness of a healthcare system. As consumers of healthcare services, patients have expectations that need to be met.

Objective: To assess clients’ satisfaction with the quality of care rendered through the National Health Insurance Scheme in a Nigerian Specialist Medical facility.

Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study of 403 respondents selected randomly from NHIS enrolees attending the Federal Medical Centre, Yola. The study assessed the enrolee's level of satisfaction at the various service points using a self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire.

Results: The overall average satisfaction score was 61.0.%. The satisfaction score on the various aspects of service was as follows: hospital environment/cleanliness (87.9%), doctors’ consultation (74.2%), reception/registration (69.5%), laboratory services (64.3%), waiting time (64.2%), staff attitude (60.5%), and availability of prescribed drugs (48.2%) been the lowest.

Conclusion: Overall, patients' satisfaction with the services provided was good, with the hospital environment/cleanliness rated highest and the availability of prescribed drugs the lowest. The current level of patient satisfaction needs to be improved by making drugs more available in the NHIS pharmacy and improving the attitude of staff to work and clients.