title: Patient expectations and satisfaction with medical care for upper respiratory infections.
abstract: To describe the determinants of patient satisfaction with medical care, self-administered questionnaires were given to a consecutive sample of 237 patients coming to an ambulatory care practice for the treatment of upper respiratory infections (URIs). Patients' most important goal was to obtain a diagnosis (57%). They usually got more reassurance, medication, and personal interest than they had expected (p = 0.0001). In a multivariate model, patients' satisfaction was related to the degrees of personal interest and reassurance they had received and to whether they felt they had received the right medication (r2 = 0.45, p = 0.0001). The authors concluded that patients with URIs generally want a diagnosis but are primarily satisfied by the personal interest, the reassurance, and the medication they receive.
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Cantonal Universitaire, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Menegay
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Hudes
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Cummings
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires