Patient Satisfaction of Intravitreal Bevacizumab Injection Services at a Referral Center

To evaluate the patient satisfaction of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injection services for ocular complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) at a referral center.

Patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) who had undergone IVB injections between March and September 2018 were interviewed by telephone using two questionnaires. First, demographic information, medical history, and the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form (PSQ-18) 5-point scale were collected. Then, the Retinopathy Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (RetTSQ) 7-point scale was completed. Total scores are presented on a 100-point scale, with 100 indicating complete satisfaction.

Two hundred and fifty patients (145 with DME and 105 with DR) were interviewed (mean age: 61 ± 10 years; male‑to‑female ratio: 1:1.5). The response rate was 96%. Twenty-one patients had only one injection. Two hundred and forty-eight (99.2%) patients had insurance. The mean number of total injections was 12.2 ± 11.5. Seventy (28%), forty-seven (18.8%), sixty-one (24.4%), and seventy-two (28.8%) patients underwent IVB treatment for <6 months, between 7 and 12 months, between 13 and 24 months, and >25 months, respectively. The mean total and overall scores were 90.8 ± 22.5 (completely satisfied) and 88.7 ± 16.6 (completely satisfied) based on PSQ‑18 and RetTSQ, respectively. Financial problems and appointment scheduling systems were the highest cases of dissatisfaction.

The majority of patients were highly satisfied with IVB injections for the management of ocular complications of DM. The appointment taking procedure, waiting times, out-of-pocket expenses, and access to the hospital should be improved.