Patient and provider satisfaction with medical care.

BACKGROUND

This study compares patient and provider satisfaction with medical care and waiting time in a large family medicine residency program. Few published studies have dealt with both patient and provider perceptions.

METHODS

Telephone interviews were conducted with 156 adult, English-speaking patients who were randomly selected from daily appointment schedules. The patients were asked to rate their satisfaction with 10 aspects of medical care and to estimate the length of time they waited to see their physicians. Sixty-five family health care providers responded to the same survey items through a self-administered questionnaire.

RESULTS

In general, 97% of patients and 89% of providers were satisfied with the overall medical care provided at the family health center. Approximately 8% of patients and 22% of providers were dissatisfied with waiting time, and 11% of patients and nearly 60% of providers were dissatisfied with appointment scheduling. Patients' estimates of waiting time for care (mean = 16.1 minutes) were significantly shorter than providers' estimates (mean = 27.5 minutes). Patients who were dissatisfied with the length of waiting time estimated waiting 41.8 minutes, while satisfied patients estimated waiting 13.3 minutes (P less than .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Family medicine patients reported higher levels of satisfaction with medical care than did providers. Both groups were the least satisfied with access to care.