The Perception of Patients Using Primary Care Units in Comparison with Conventional Public Hospital Outpatient Departments and Prime Mover Family Practicesé: An Exit Survey(มุมมองของผู้ป่วยต่อหน่วยบริการปฐมภูมิเปรียบเทียบกับแผนกผู้ป่วยนอกของโรงพยาบาลรัฐฯ)

In Thailand, development of family practice has been initiated by the input of motivated selfstyled family practitioners, known as  family practice prime-movers . With the advent of a new government in 2001, Primary Care Units (PCUs) were set up based on specific criteria some of which had first been implemented by the prime-movers in their family practices. The study was designed to compare the levels of clients’ satisfaction with respect to various domains of responsiveness (dignity, autonomy, prompt attention, amenities, communication, confidentiality and trust) assessed in the 37 prime-mover family practices, 37 PCUs (according to the 30 baht policy) and 37 public hospital OPDs. An exit survey on a systematic sample of 1 in every 3 patients was conducted in April and May 2003.Analysis of the characteristics of 2,894 answered questionnaires showed that the prime-mover family practices were perceived as better than PCUs, although the latter were consistently perceived as providing better services than public hospital OPDs. In conclusion, the attempt to develop PCUs by the  30 baht policy has improved the level of patient satisfaction when compared to public hospital OPDs, although prime-mover family practices still appear to be more favorable. Key words: responsiveness, patient satisfaction, family practice, primary care