Patient satisfaction with primary care: a comparison between conventional care and traditional Chinese medicine.
OBJECTIVE
The evaluation of patient satisfaction with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) versus conventional medicine (COM) in Swiss primary care.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was performed with questionnaires aimed at fulfilment of expectations, perceived treatment effects, and patient satisfaction.


METHODS
Participants were 51 certificated TCM physicians, 71 COM physicians, and 2530 adult patients.


RESULTS
Among patients seeking primary care in Switzerland, those who choose a conventional physician with additional certification in TCM have a higher chance of being completely satisfied with their treatment than patients who choose a physician educated only in COM.


CONCLUSIONS
Physicians who supply TCM in addition to COM are able to satisfy the needs of their patients more completely than solely COM-practicing physicians. Explanations for this difference include less frequent side effects in TCM, better TCM physician-patient interaction with longer duration of consultation, and different treatment expectations of patients seeking TCM.
Michlig
M
M
Institute for Evaluative Research in Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Ausfeld-Hafter
B
B
Busato
A
A
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000592:standards; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland