title: Methods of measuring patient satisfaction in health care organizations.
abstract: Patient perceptions of the quality of services provided is a key factor (along with cost effectiveness) in determining a health care organization's competitive advantage and survival. This article examines the advantages, disadvantages, and problems associated with nine different methods of measuring patient satisfaction with service quality. The appropriateness of each of these techniques under different organizational conditions is also discussed. The article concludes with guidelines for measurement of patient satisfaction and implementation of managerial follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Hospitality Management Department, College of Business Administration, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Ford
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bach
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Fottler
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004465:Economic Competition; D017144:Focus Groups; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008332:Management Quality Circles; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012107:Research Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires