Patient Satisfaction With Orthopedic And Prosthetic Medical Devices

Collecting information about patient satisfaction with orthopedic and prosthetic medical devices in terms of utility, tolerance, and compliance is essential for verifying and improving the quality of these devices. In addition, such information is useful for improving the patients’ quality of life, and the quality management systems of health care providers. This study assessed patient satisfaction with these devices from a sample of patients with orthopedic, neurologic, and rheumatic diseases at the Specialized Hospital for Orthopedic Prosthetics and at the premises of the Dispenser of Orthopedic and Prosthetic Medical Devices, both in Bratislava in the Slovak Republic. The assessment involved a translated and validated questionnaire about patient satisfaction with orthopedic and prosthetic medical devices to evaluate key factors of weight, fit, appearance, comfort, pain free, free of abrasiveness, ease of application, and durability of each device. The study samples consisted of patients with lower limb problems (42.5%), spine problems (26.9%), and a combination of leg and spine issues (25.9%). Orthopedic disease occurred in 73.6% of these patients, a combination of orthopedic and neurologic disease in 13.5%, and neurologic disease in 7.3%. Orthopedic insoles (36.3%), hip belts (17.6%), and the corset on the spine (5.2%) were the most used devices. Overall, the medical devices rated highly, with a high proportion of patients voting “strongly satisfied” in five of the eight key factors (range 51.8 to 63.2%), followed by a moderately lower proportion for durability (43.5%), comfort (37.3%), and appearance (31.1%). The comfort in wearing the device received the greatest patient dissatisfaction (22.8% of patients), followed by appearance (12.4%), and then fit (7.3%).