BACKGROUND: With the rising patients dissatisfying experiences and poor patient satisfaction rate accounted in the Emergency Department (ED) of Manila Doctors Hospital, the researcher was determined to alleviate these upsetting experiences without making huge and costly renovation on the part of the hospital management by educating the patients and guardians of pediatric patients of the ED processes and scenarios while at the triage.

METHODS: This study was randomized,controlled trial in which 70 acute care adult patients and guardians of pediatric patients that came in the afternoon shift (2-10pm) were enrolled and randomized to experimental and control groups, where the experimental group was educated of the ED processes and scenarios at the triage area and the control group was given no information. At the end of ED visit, participants were asked to give a patient satisfaction rating using a scale where 6 domains are rated (triage, patient safety, security, non-medical and medical staffs, facility and payments). 

RESULTS: The results showed no statistically significant differences between the experimental and the control groups. There was not enough power to detect a statistically significant difference between the two groups as to the level of satisfaction.

CONCLUSION: The experimental and control groups were comparable as to the level of patient satisfaction. Patient education in the triage is not an effective strategy in improving the patient satisfaction in the ED of Manila Doctors Hospital.