@article{13d7475b92ab4f9d8674b6c86c1a4e16,
title = "Self-reported waiting times for outpatient health care services in hungary: Results of a cross-sectional survey on a national representative sample",
abstract = "(1) Background: System-level data on waiting time in the outpatient setting in Hungary is scarce. The objective of the study was to explore self-reported waiting time for an appointment and at a doctor{\textquoteright}s office. (2) Methods: An online, cross-sectional, self-administered survey was carried out in 2019 in Hungary among a representative sample (n = 1000) of the general adult population. Chi-squared test and logistic regression analysis were carried out to explore if socioeconomic characteristics, health status, or residence were associated with waiting times and the perception of waiting time as a problem. (3) Results: Proportions of 90%, 41%, and 64% of respondents were seen within a week by family doctor, public specialist, and private specialist, respectively. One-third of respondents waited more than a month to get an appointment with a public specialist. Respondents in better health status reported shorter waiting times; those respondents were less likely to perceive a problem with: (1) waiting time to get an appointment (OR = 0.400) and (2) waiting time at a doctor{\textquoteright}s office (OR = 0.519). (4) Conclusions: Longest waiting times were reported for public specialist visits, but waiting times were favorable for family doctors and private specialists. Further investigation is needed to better understand potential inequities affecting people in worse health status.",
keywords = "EQ-5D-5L, Hungary, Outpatient care, Patient experiences, Waiting time",
author = "Fernandes, {{\'O}scar Brito} and Armin Lucevic and P{\'e}ntek, {M. rta} and Dionne Kringos and Niek Klazinga and Gul{\'a}csi, {L. szl{\'o}} and Zsombor Zrubka and Petra Baji",
note = "Funding Information: Funding: This work was supported by the Higher Education Institutional Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities in the framework of the {\textquoteleft}Financial and Public Services{\textquoteright} research project (20764-3/2018/FEKUTSTRAT) at Corvinus University of Budapest. The research was developed within a Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (HealthPros—Healthcare Performance Intelligence Professionals) that has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement Nr. 765141. In connection with writing this article, OBF, LG and PB received grant support from the Higher Education Institutional Excellence Program of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology in the framework of the Financial and Public Services research project (NKFIH-1163-10/2019) at Corvinus University of Budapest; MP from the Project no. 2019-1.3.1-KK-2019-00007 with the support provided from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the 2019-1.3.1-KK funding scheme; ZZ from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement Nr. 679681). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2021",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052213",
language = "English",
volume = "18",
pages = "1--15",
journal = "International journal of environmental research and public health",
issn = "1661-7827",
publisher = "Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)",
number = "5",
}