Impact of electronic health services on patient satisfaction in primary health care centers in Southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Electronic health service (EHS) offers computerized medical knowledge, electronic patients' information, and telecommunications. The field of EHS has grown exponentially in the last decade, especially during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic; therefore, it is important to evaluate its impact on patient satisfaction. To evaluate the effect of EHS on patient satisfaction at the primary care centers (PHCCs) in Abha, southwestern Saudi Arabia. This study was a questionnaire-based analytical cross-sectional study that was conducted in PHCCs, Abha city, southwestern Saudi Arabia. The study used an adapted questionnaire to assess patient satisfaction of EHS. We used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26 for data entry, scoring, and analysis. The study included 249 participants, of whom 53% were males. Married participants comprised 69.5% of respondents. The most frequent electronic application used is <i>Sehhaty</i> (88.8%), and most of the applicants preferred it as well (73.5%). The majority of participants agree that they are satisfied with the care they received during the visit (71.5%). Females showed greater satisfaction levels, but the holders of higher educational degrees are less satisfied with EHS. In conclusion, the study results suggest that the implementation of EHS in PHCCs located in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia can lead to an increase in patient satisfaction. Thus, it is recommended that health care providers encourage the use of EHS as a means to enhance patient satisfaction and alleviate issues related to physical visits. More studies are needed to evaluate the impact of electronic health services on other levels of health care across the kingdom and to specific populations as well.