Measuring patient satisfaction in orthopaedic surgery.

In addition to their wish to understand the clinical results of orthopaedic interventions, clinicians, patients, and payers are increasingly interested in patient satisfaction, both with the process of care and with outcomes. The construct of satisfaction is complex and depends on the context in which care takes place, including the nature of treatment, its setting, and most importantly the expectation of patients prior to treatment. The characteristics of scales that are effective measures of satisfaction are the same as those of all effective measurement instruments--i.e., reliability, validity, and responsiveness. Measurement of patient satisfaction may be especially important in evaluations of established procedures and processes so that the value of those procedures and processes to patients can be more completely understood.