Patient satisfaction: methodological issues and research findings.

Patient satisfaction plays a significant role in the health care process. It influences the health care seeking behaviour of patients, compliance with treatment and the health outcomes of patients. The use of ill-conceived and limited patient satisfaction questionnaires, in conjunction with inadequate methods of administration, have contributed to the poor reputation of patient satisfaction as an indicator of the quality of health care services. This paper addresses some of the methodological issues related to the measurement of patient satisfaction and describes validated and reliable tools which are available for use by hospitals in Australia. Research findings discussed demonstrate that patients are able to evaluate validly and reliably the quality of both clinical and non-clinical aspects of health care services. Australian health care organisations should implement patient satisfaction as a quality indicator and thereby actively seek to improve the health outcomes of their patients.