title: Patient satisfaction as an indicator of quality care in independent health facilities: developing and assessing a tool to enhance public accountability.
abstract: The objective of this research was to examine the performance of a brief patient survey about quality of care received in community-based diagnostic and therapeutic facilities. The survey was administered to patients in 44 facilities that were also scheduled for a formal external assessment. The response rate was 53%. Patients generally rated their care positively; 18.5% of patients rated at least 1 item as fair or poor. The amount of information received about risks and complications was rated least favorably; concern and caring shown by staff was rated most favorably. The 10 items which patients rated regarding aspects of quality formed an internally consistent scale (alpha = .93). Patients' ratings were not useful predictors of assessor ratings. Although patients' ratings cannot substitute for expert on-site assessments, they are an important part of a quality management program. The patient survey provides additional, complementary information about components of quality care that are important to them.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. woodward@fhs.csu.mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Woodward
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ostbye
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Craighead
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: E F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Wenghofer
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D006801:Humans; D009864:Ontario; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires