Comparison of Visit Length and Waiting Time of Patients in Public and Private Clinics in the North of Iran

Background: The visit length is considered one of the indicators for assessing patients’ satisfaction. Factors such as waiting time for getting a visit affects the desirability of the visit. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the visit length and waiting time of patients in public and private clinics in Tabriz. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic study conducted in five clinics in 2018. A questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data from 386 participants recruited through simple random sampling. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied to analyze the data using SPSS version 22.0. Results: Overall, the mean visit length was 25.5 and 25.4 min in public and private centers, respectively, while the mean waiting time was 141.2 and 156.4 min in public and private centers, respectively. There was no significant difference between public and private centers regarding the visit length (P > 0.05); however, there was a significant difference between public and private centers in terms of waiting time (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The waiting time was too much, especially in private clinics, which can negatively affect patient satisfaction. Therefore, suggested interventions may consist of using internet and telephone admission, scheduling a waiting list, and requiring physicians to be present on time.