title: Patients' own assessments of quality of primary care compared with objective records based measures of technical quality of care: cross sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relation between older patients' assessments of the quality of their primary care and measures of good clinical practice on the basis of data from administrative and clinical records.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross sectional population based study using the general practice assessment survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  18 general practices in the Basildon primary care trust area, south east England.
  
  
  METHODS
  3487 people aged 65 or more.
  
  
  METHODS
  Correlations between mean practice scores on the general practice assessment survey and three evidence based measures on survey of case records (monitoring for, and control of, hypertension, and vaccination against influenza).
  
  
  RESULTS
  76% of people (3487/4563) responded to the general practice assessment survey. Correlations between patient assessed survey scores for technical quality and the objective records based measures of good clinical practice were 0.22 (95% confidence interval -0.28 to 0.62) for hypertension monitored, 0.30 (-0.19 to 0.67) for hypertension controlled, and -0.05 (-0.50 to 0.43) for influenza vaccination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older patients' assessments are not a sufficient basis for assessing the technical quality of their primary care. For an overall assessment both patient based and records based measures are required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ.
authors.forename: Mala
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hammersley
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004739:England; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000592:standards; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D017678:Sex Distribution