This is a complicated question since it goes beyond your satisfaction as the patient.  Certainly your satisfaction with the services you receive is extremely important, but since you are probably not an expert in every aspect of medicine, you may not know whether the test or treatment you receive is the most appropriate for your condition.  In most instances, you are reliant on the physician to give you the correct diagnosis for your medical problem.  Today, I want to talk about the importance of satisfaction in assessing the medical care you receive.

Over 20 years ago, in 1990 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) gave a definition of quality of care that has been useful ever since.  In their publication, Medicare: A Strategy for Quality Assurance, they defined “quality of care is the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.”  Though referencing Medicare, this definition works for all healthcare.  I feel that if you are not satisfied with your experience, whether it is an office visit with your PCP, an x-ray procedure or a surgical procedure, it can lead to your questioning the appropriateness of the other aspects of your care where you aren’t the expert.

I would suggest you measure each part of your healthcare experience by asking this simple question: “Did this encounter meet or surpass my expectations?”  When evaluating your experience, for example a PCP office visit, consider everything about it:

• Courtesy of the front desk staff
• How long you waited in the waiting room
• Courtesy of the person who escorted you to the examining room or doctor’s office
• How long you waited to see the doctor
• How well the doctor communicated with you
• The thoroughness of the examination
• The clarity of the diagnosis and treatment plan
• Your comfort level of being able to communicate with the physician should you have any questions

Please submit your comments, such as, how would you rate your satisfaction with your physician and other health care providers you’ve seen?  How can things be improved from your perspective?  I’ll talk more about other quality measures in my next post on Using the Healthcare System.

For Your Health – Dr. Bob