FAMILY PAEDIATRICIANS IN FLORENCE: AN INQUIRY ON PATIENTS’ SATISFACTION

Key words: Family paediatricians, Quality of care, Patients’ satisfaction

An inquiry was carried out in Florence among caretakers of 300 children aged 0- 14 years, aimed at exploring their opinions about family paediatricians. The caretakers (mainly mothers) were interviewed by professionals of a marketing agency hired ad hoc. On average, 74% of them utilize the family paediatrician, while 9% refer to general practitioners and 17% to private paediatricians. Caretakers showed a high degree of satisfaction (87%) about their family paediatrician. Communication skills and competence were perceived as particularly good. Availability was also good: only a small minority complained about difficulties in reaching the doctor by phone (6%) or in obtaining a home visit (8%). The use of hospital emergency room was limited (0.13/child/year) while relatively frequent was the consultation of other specialists.